


The Viridian Vanguard

by ruff_ethereal



Series: The Keeper of the Grove [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Comedy, Drama, F/F, Gen, Horror, Non-Explicit Sex, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-19 10:28:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 41
Words: 97,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14235315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruff_ethereal/pseuds/ruff_ethereal
Summary: It’s a brand new day in the Viridian Valley, and Weiss has got a packed year in front of her:Alongside getting a handle on her recently empowered and evenmoreout-of-control magic, she’s also got to venture outside the safety of the Bastion’s walls, try to hunt or tame animals more akin to the monsters from fantasy holos, and just learn how to live full-time in the Fae territories now that she’s one of Avalon’s Most Wanted in the humans territories.Luckily, she’s got her older sister Winter back, friends new and old, and a recently mended relationship with her girlfriend Ruby, all of whom are ready to support her however they can!Meanwhile, ancient conspiracies are being exposed, human civilization is rapidly unraveling and devolving into anarchy and civil unrest as truth and lies spread like wildfire, and the rapidly expanding and strengthening Heralds of the New World Order are only too happy to pour gas on the ever growing inferno.That's not really Weiss’ concern, though.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Updates once a week.

“ _Hey Weiss!”_ Ruby said via comm-crystal. _“Don’t freak out or anything, but I’m pretty sure your sister and my uncle are going to try and kill each other! Okay,_ _going back to trying to stop them now_ _, bye!”_

Weiss blankly stared at the space where Ruby’s holo had just been.

“I’d go look into that as quickly as I could, if I were you,” Taiyang said, gently nudging Weiss towards the direction of the training grounds.

She bolted off, weaving around the freshly planted crops and saplings, vaulting right over the fence, and tearing up the well-worn path. She was sweating, panting, and red-faced by the time she came to the entrance, found Qrow and Winter warming up some distance away, and everyone else by the benches on the side.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!” Weiss screeched.

“Your sister and Qrow‘re going to fight.” Blake explained.

“To the _death?!”_

“If neither of them decide to yield before that point, yes.” Ren replied calmly.

Weiss struggled for words. “I—how—what _happened...?!”_

“I accidentally killed Jaune while I was sparring with him, and things just got worse from there...” Ruby replied, her ears drooping.

“You _killed_ Jaune?!”

“Don’t worry—Penny brought him back!” Nora said, thumbing to the side.

Weiss looked, and noticed that Jaune was laid out flat on the ground, dangerously pale and dead to the world around him, Penny kneeling over him as she slowly ran her glowing hands up and down his body, Zwei watching over the both of them.

“His brain activity only ceased for a very brief moment, before any serious damage or organ failure could occur!” she chirped. “He’ll be perfectly fine, and the emergency menders are already on their way.”

Weiss turned back to the others. “Then why are they fighting if he’s alive again?”

“Yeah, that’s mostly Uncle Qrow’s fault,” Yang replied. “He made a crack about how humans can’t match up to the Fae, even a Queensguard like your sister. They argued for a while but didn’t really get anywhere, so now they’re finding out the definitive way!”

“And you’re all just going so sit here?! Why aren’t any of you stopping them?!”

“I’m really sorry, Weiss, we tried our best, but it seems neither of them will be moved...” Pyrrha replied.

“And before you ask about forcibly stopping them, the power level differences between all of us plus Winter’s magic would make that _really_ messy.” Ren said. “I’m also rather sure they’ll just decide to have a duel anyway at a later date.”

Weiss scowled. “So what, you’re all just going to sit here and wait for them to finish going at each other’s throats?”

“Affirmative!” “Yep!” “Pre’ey much.” “It seems to be the only thing we really can do.” “Woof!”

“Try to look on the bright side, though, Weiss!” Yang said.

“ _What_ bright side?!” Weiss snapped, her voice now growing hoarse.

“Now you can watch and cheer on your sister in a fair fight with Uncle Qrow!” Yang said. “To be honest, it was _really_ humiliating how easily she fell for that trap, especially with the suit.”

“And _now_ we get to see an actual Queensguard in action, live and up close without the risk of getting killed by them!” Nora cried. “This is going to be _awesome!”_ she cried, throwing her arms up in the air.

Nora started to bring them back down as freezing cold mist spilled out of Weiss’ mouth and nose, the surrounding temperature dropped dramatically, and the runes of her gauntlet started to hum and whine at an ominous frequency.

Everyone slowly began to take cover behind the solid wooden bench or Zwei, except for Ruby who stood up and calmly walked towards Weiss.

“Weiss…?” Ruby said as she carefully held her hand out.

The mist and the humming stopped, Weiss spun around. “I need to stop this...” she grumbled as she stormed off.

Ruby watched her go, hand still out, before she sighed, and sat back down on the bench. Yang got out of cover and sat beside her, putting her arm around her shoulders and pulling her in for a hug.

Weiss headed to Winter first, slowed down and came to a stop a good distance away from the dirt circle where she was warming up. She was mostly just practicing her acrobatics and footwork with a practice sword, but the dummy she was attacking was still rapidly coming apart at the seams, losing limbs and gaining grievous injuries faster than Weiss could see the strikes that caused them.

Winter dashed forward with an upwards slash!

The dummy shot up into the air, splitting in two as it hit its peak, the halves falling apart into even more neatly sliced chunks.

Winter lowered her sword, turned to face Weiss. “You should really rehydrate and relax, Weiss, you look terrible,” she said calmly.

One of Winter’s summons appeared, and handed Weiss a water bottle from the case in the corner. “That’s not really my top priority right now, but thank you...” Weiss said as she took it. “Moving on: please don’t fight Qrow!”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that, Weiss,” Winter said as she sheathed her sword, began to set up a new training dummy. “I will admit I lost my composure earlier, but I have still put the honour of the Queensguard on the line, and I feel obligated to defend it, even if I am a deserter now.”

“And is it _really_ worth the risk of getting killed?!” Weiss snapped, her voice cracking.

Winter gave her a stern look, pointed at the water; Weiss groaned, cracked it open, and gulped down a good bit of it.

“Better?” Winter asked.

“Slightly...” Weiss grumbled, before she put on a pleading look. “Winter, _please:_ just forfeit the fight! I don’t want to lose you _again!”_

“And you won’t, Weiss,” Winter said warmly, stepping up and putting her free hand on her shoulder. “I know it feels like this was all just an impulsive reaction to Jaune getting killed earlier, and I’ll admit part of it is, but believe me, my reasons run deeper than that.”

“And would you care to explain…?” Weiss asked testily.

“I don’t feel I can say it right now, Weiss,” Winter said, her eyes turning up to Penny and Qrow in the distance. “I’m still not aware how far they can hear, and how much those chronicles of theirs can pick-up—just trust that your big sister has got this, alright?” she asked, smiling at Weiss.

Weiss scowled at her, before she sighed. “Alright...”

Winter kissed Weiss on her forehead. “Thank you, Weiss. Now just go on back to the benches and relax; if this duel is going to be anything like Qrow is saying it will be, I don’t want you getting overexcited,” she said as she gently coaxed Weiss off.

Weiss shot her a look, before she turned around, and walked off to where Qrow was training. Unlike Winter, he was just rapidly going through a series of stances and maneuvers with his practice sword.

“You need something, princess?” Qrow asked, still training.

“Yes, actually!” Weiss replied. “if you could _please_ not fight my sister to the death, that would be much appreciated.”

“No can do, Weiss!” Qrow said as he stabbed the ground, spun around and kicked his weapon back up to his talons with just his legs. “I know you aren’t too well-versed in Watcher culture, but forfeiting a duel is a _really_ big deal, especially when you were the one that asked for it, and it’s a fight between equals.”

“How is this a ‘fight between equals’ when you’re a veteran Watcher, and Winter doesn’t have the magitech that help give the Queensguard their edge over everyone else, nor any real mastery over her magic?!”

“When it’s a Tooth and Claw Duel.” Qrow replied, throwing his sword up in an arc. “No martial arts, no magic, standardized equipment!” he cried as he leaped up and caught it. He landed, neatly spun around to face Weiss again, and said, “It’s about as pure skill and innate strength as we can get.”

“Just please go easy on her, Qrow...” Weiss muttered.

“Yeah, not a snowball’s chance in Sekhmet for that,” Qrow replied, shaking his head. “Ice Queen over there is insisting that all her Queensguard training and mods will put us both on even ground, in spite of the guy who really _can_ accurately remember the last time he or anyone other watcher has gone toe-to-toe with ‘Avalon’s best.’

“It’d be an insult to her, the Royals, and the Watchers if I don’t give her everything I can within the rules and restrictions.”

“You’re not going to _intentionally_ kill her, are you?”

Qrow shot her a look. “Do you think she’ll surrender at any point before I have to, so I don’t get murdered myself…?”

“...”

Qrow nodded. “And there’s your answer.” He turned around, resumed training. “I gotta finish warming up, talk to me later, princess.”

“If you’re still _alive_ by then...” Weiss grumbled.

“That’s what Penny’s for.” Qrow said calmly.

Weiss sighed, turned around, and trudged back to the others, now back on the bench, minus Jaune, and plus some emergency menders setting up supplies and equipment nearby, no doubt for the duel.

“How’d it go?” Ruby asked.

“Take a wild guess...” Weiss grumbled before she plopped herself down on Ruby’s lap, nestled her head against her chest.

Ruby frowned. “There, there, Weiss...” she said as she hugged her, started soothingly stroking her back.

Beside them, Yang sucked in a sharp breath and scowled.

Ruby shot her a dirty look.

Yang groaned, she got up and walked away, muttering something in Actaeon under her breath.

Ruby turned back to Weiss. “How are you feeling, Weiss?”

“Angry! _Upset!”_ Weiss snapped, before she sniffed. “ Mostly just _resigned_ that things are _rapidly_ going to shit all over again, and yet I was _still_ surprised! I was having a _good day_ , damn it!”

“There, there, Weiss...” Ruby said soothingly. “Do you need a tissue?”

“No...”

“Cookies?” Ruby said. “I can go run back to the house and get some, or maybe someone else can!”

“Maybe later...”

“ Want to just stay here and snuggle for a while?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.” Weiss said, before she sighed and looked up at Ruby. “This is going to be a regular part of my life from here on out, huh?”

“Oh, definitely!” Taiyang said as he came up to them, several baskets worth of food and snacks hanging off his arms and in his hands. “In case you haven’t noticed, violence and combat is a _very_ big part of Fae culture, especially when you live with a house full of watchers and the Keeper!”

Weiss looked at him, and frowned. “What are you doing with all that food?”

“Snacks for the audience!” Taiyang chirped.

Before Weiss could ask, she heard the makers and weavers doing construction in the Grove streaming into the area, chattering excitedly among themselves as they found grass and comfortable tree branches to sit themselves on.

“That’s our cue!” Nora said as she got up off the bench.

“ _What_ cue?!” Weiss snapped.

“Our cue to set up the borders of the dueling arena, and officiate it,” Ren explained as he, Zwei, and Blake followed suit and headed to the equipment shed.

“...”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it eventually!” Taiyang said. “It’s like living in a house full of kids who like to roughhouse all the time, except with live weapons and possible death and dismemberment.”

Weiss scowled, mist starting to pour out her nose once more.

“Snacks?” Taiyang asked, unfazed as he gestured to the baskets. “It always tends to go fast, just warning you!”

“Dibs on the popcorn!” Yang cried as she ran back to the bench, grabbed a bowl and took a seat again.

Ruby reached out for the cookies, before she hesitated and looked at Weiss.

Weiss sighed. “Don’t let me stop you...” she said as she slipped off Ruby’s lap, sat with her elbows on her thighs, her chin in her hands, and a resigned look on her face.

“Are things always this eventful here…?” Pyrrha asked.

“Absolutely!” Taiyang said. “It’s more surprising when something _isn’t_ up, in the Grove, in the Bastion, or anywhere else in the Valley! Last call, sure you’re not hungry?”

“No thank you, Tai,” Pyrrha said.

“I’m off, then!” Taiyang said as he picked up the baskets and made the rounds with the rest of the audience, the baskets rapidly emptying.

And so Weiss’ life began its latest downhill slide into hell.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s gonna be a lotta blood and violence in this chapter, what with no Aura keeping things relatively clean in this universe.

The boundaries and barriers were set, Blake and Zwei inspected the arena for anything out of the ordinary, Ren and Nora sat at at a commentary box set up on a tree, Penny recording and powering a Fae version of a speaker system strung up around the grounds.

The crowds talked excitedly among themselves as Blake and Zwei escorted both Winter and Qrow into the arena and under the commentary box, where they were sniffed, frisked, and had the fit of their armour and helmets checked, the sharpness and strength of their swords tested.

They quieted down as Ren stood up. <Is the arena ready?> he asked.

<The arena is ready.> Blake replied, Zwei nodding with her.

<Are the combatants properly equipped?>

<The combatants are properly equipped.>

<Are the spotters ready?>

<The spotters are ready.>

Ren nodded. <Proceed to your duties.>

Blake and Zwei bowed or made a respectful gesture, before they went to opposite sides of the arena, stopped just outside the ring of shield generators and rope.

Nora stood up, she and Ren began to address Qrow and Winter, one in Actaeon, the other in Nivean.

“Do any of you wish to step down?”

“We do not.” Qrow and Winter replied.

”Are the combatants ready to fight?”

“We are ready to fight.”

“Are you all aware of the rules?”

“We are aware of the rules.”

“Then prepare for combat.”

Qrow and Winter cast each other surly looks, before they went their separate ways, stopped at an equal distance from each other.

Nora and Ren addressed the audience now. “This duel will be Tooth and Claw! No magic, no martial arts, only whatever the combatants naturally have, whatever is presently in the arena, and the equipment prescribed to them!

“Victory shall only be won by death or surrender, nothing else!”

The crowds were starting to whip themselves into a frenzy again, Qrow and Winter unsheathed their weapons and got into combat stances, Weiss tensed up and clutched the fabric of her skirt as Nora put her lips to the ceremonial horn.

Its bellow echoed throughout the training grounds, Qrow and Winter charged!

Ironbark struck ironbark, the strikes so fast Weiss could only see the reflection of the light off the swords. Punches were thrown; blades, limbs, and other body parts were grappled; kicks were aimed anywhere and everywhere, especially between legs. Sword points and edges were driven towards heads, hearts, and anywhere else important and/or vulnerable.

The two disengaged, they eyed each other carefully as they began to circle each other. They only ended up with superficial damage to their armour, small nicks and cuts that stopped bleeding almost immediately, bruises they barely felt, but it was clear that both had intended to inflict _much_ worse.

The audience went wild, howling and cheering for their champion of choice!

Weiss blankly  stared  at the arena.  _“What the hell?!”_ she screamed  over the din. “What just happened?!”

“Didn’t catch any of that, Weiss?” Yang yelled back.

“ _No!”_ Weiss cried. “That was over in _seconds,_ how did _any_ of you see that?!”

“Training and/or Fae genetics, maybe a little bit of mutations as a consequence of living here!” Taiyang replied. “You can probably just watch the recordings later in slow motion!”

“ _That’s not what I’m--”_

Weiss’ words were cut short as Qrow and Winter charged at each other again.

Knees were driven into stomachs,  and heads if they could reach . The hilts of  their  swords were bashed  and smashed against each other .  Winter got a good grip on Qrow,  wrestled  him into the ground . Clouds of dust kicked up all around them as  she  tried to stab  him.

Qrow  twisted, kicked ,  grabbed and wrenched Winter’s sword away, anything  to keep her from hitting  something vital , until he  managed to  scramble out from under her .

“What happened to you  winning this fight in the blink of an eye , Qrow?!” Winter snapped  as  she watched him flee . “Found you underestimated me?!”

“ Nah, just holding back a little to be be polite to you!” Qrow said  as he  got back up on his hind talons, put pressure on the  worst of his injuries . “It’s considered bad form to destroy your opponents  _too_ quickly in a duel—few folks like a curb-stomp.”

“So I  suppose  you’re going to take this  _seriously_ now...?” Winter spat.

Qrow chuckled. “Oh, you bet.”

He charged again,  Winter braced herself .

_ Cla ng! _

Their swords locked, Winter forced her blade down on Qrow’s shoulder. It grazed the armour there as he spun  away from her , his arms twisting  unnatural ly — for a human, at least .  H e slashed at her side, Winter  cried out and  jumped back. 

H er eyes  were  wide as  she looked her new wound, then at Qrow casually bending his  limbs  back to their normal  appearance . 

“Yeah, naturally double-jointed—opens up some  _real_ interesting avenues of attack,  among other  things , ”  he said. “If you surrender now, I could show you them, how to counter it with the range of motion you’re limited to.”

“ No thank you,” Winter  replied , “I prefer to learn by doing.”

Qrow shrugged. “If you say so, Ice Queen,” he said, before he attacked again.

S trikes came at unexpected angles, Winter  could only deflect or dodge them, little time nor opportunities to make a counterattack . Qrow  began  to make full use of his talons,  deflecting Winter’s blade,  tearing into her armour  like daggers , digging  into her  and showing just how hard it really was to escape his grip .

Winter lunged, Qrow latched onto her shoulders and vaulted right over her. Winter spun around, she cried out as Qrow’s hind talons slashed at her face, a second kick wrenched her sword right out of her hands, and sent it flying away!

Winter gritted her teeth as she raised her hands in front of her, one eye closed for the blood dripping down.

Qrow lowered his sword, gestured to Winter’s fallen weapon. “Pick it up,” he said, “I want to win, but not like this.”

Winter growled at him  as she carefully inched to her weapon ,  an eye always on Qrow .

“ Oh  _come on!”_ Weiss yelled over the  howling of the crowds. “ How was that  even  legal?!  That can’t  _possibly_ have been legal!”

“ It’s legal!”  Ruby said. “’Only whatever the combatants natural ly have’ means  _everything_ — talons ,  super senses , tails, you name it!  Otherwise, we’d have all kinds of complicated rules and exceptions depending on the species of whoever is fighting! ”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, though!” Yang said. “She’s doing pretty good for someone who’s never had to fight a bird Fae head-on before!”

“What makes you say _that?”_

“She’s not dead or lost a limb yet!”

Weiss punched her.

“OW!” Yang cried, clutching her arm, frost seeping into the skin. “I was _legitimately_ complimenting your sister!”

“Well it was a _shitty_ compliment!”

As Ruby and Taiyang worked to prevent another fight breaking out, Winter picked her sword back up, wiped the blood off her face now that the bleeding had stopped.

“ Sure you still want more , Ice Queen?”  Qrow  called out . “You didn’t seem to be doing too good just now!”

“Only because of surprise, Qrow, only because of surprise!” Winter fired back. “ I’m rather sure I know how to  fight you now —a s a matter of fact,  I invite you to  strike me again, so I can demonstrate.”

“ Painfully obvious trap aside, y ou  _really_ sure about that?” Qrow asked. “ I respect enough to tell  you I’ve  still got  more up my  sleeves— and those are just the tricks I can legally use here .”

“Whatever they are, I am _sure_ I can handle them, so bring them out, Qrow!” Winter said as she got into a combat stance.

Qrow smirked. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He threw his sword into the ground, blade first. Winter watched in confusion, until Qrow removed the armour from his arms, detached his robes’ sleeves and revealed the thick black feathers underneath. He spread his wings out wide, before he blasted towards Winter, his sword clutched in his rear talons, clouds of dust getting kicked up in his wake.

Weiss whipped her head around to Taiyang, Ruby, and Yang.

“Still legal!” they all said.

Winter braced herself as Qrow neared, her teeth gritted. She shut her mouth as he shot upwards and over her at the last second,  blasting a cloud of dust  at her . Qrow swooped down  around her , kicking  up more and more dirt , completely obscuring them from both from view.

“ WINTER!” Weiss screamed.

Outside the cloud,  Zwei and the crowds nearest  to it  covered their eyes as the shield generators kicked in,  creating gusts and blowing it back into the arena. 

Inside, Winter stood braced, tensed, and blinded. The  excited chatter  of the crowds was deafening, but not so loud that it  completely  drowned out the sound of flapping wings,  the hum of the shield generators, and most importantly, a sudden rush of air.

_Whoosh!_

Qrow dove at Winter, slashed at her side.

Winter gritted her teeth, swung her sword through empty air.

_Whoosh!_

Qrow struck again, flying low and catching her on her leg.

Winter jerked it back, held her sword tightly as she listened to the air blowing all around her.

_Whoosh! Clang!_

Winter’s blade met Qrow’s, deflected it upwards and away from her.

Qrow frantically flapped  up and away , Winter  spun  around,  dropped her sword  as she dashed forward and took a leap into the air!

Qrow broke out of the cloud just in time for the crowds to see Winter tackling him from behind, pummel and strangle him until we was forced to land, face-first in the dirt. He struggled and flailed, but Winter was merciless, raining down punches on him, ending with one solid hit to the back of his head!

_Crack!_

Qrow’s head dropped into the dirt, Winter got off of him and stood back up. He rolled around, coughing and wheezing, he choked as Winter brought her foot down on his neck. He tried to grab at his leg, she stepped down harder.

He choked again, he put his arms down flat.

Weiss let go of the breath she had been holding. “Oh… good… does this mean she’s won?”

“Nope!” Taiyang said, shaking his head.

“What do you mean ‘Nope!’?”

“All duels have to have a mutually agreed upon, unmistakable gesture that you’ve surrendered, in case you can’t say it out loud—a non-verbal safeword.” Taiyang explained. “I don’t see either of them making anything _close_ to that.”

Back down in the arena, Winter took her foot off Qrow’s neck. “Pick it up,” she said, pointing to where Qrow had dropped his weapon. “I want to win, but not like this.”

Qrow  sucked in a breath  as he bent his arms back to normal, his feathers folding close to his skin.  The both of them kept an eye on each other as  he retrieved his sword , before they calmly moved  back  to the center of the arena,  stared each other down as they readied their weapons .

An ominous quiet fell over the crowd; even Nora, who had been enthusiastically cheering the whole duel, went silent.

“ What’s going on...?” Weiss asked.

Almost everyone around her shushed her, Weiss flinched.

Ruby offered her hand, Weiss gripped it tightly, sweat pouring down her head, her gloved hand pulsing and pouring magic into Ruby.

W inter and Qrow charged at each other one  more time ,  not two  clean,  decisive, faster-than-the-eye-could-see slashes  as in the holos, but  a  messy, desperate explosion of violence, filled with punches, slashes,  grapples,  kicks, thrusts, and finally, a headbutt that sent the one who gave it, Winter, and the one who received it, Qrow, staggering backwards.

The crowd collectively held their breaths as both combatants struggled to remain standing. Winter  suddenly  dropp ed her  sword,  clutch ed at  the worst of her wounds.  Qrow chuckl ed softly until he noticed the bloody feathers falling from his head, the blood dripping into his eyes.

Then, the two of them fell to their knees or dropped flat on the ground.

<MENDERS!> Ren yelled.

Zwei, Blake, and the emergency menders sprung into action, trying to stem the worst of the bleeding, or just hauling them to the medical tent as quickly as possible.

Nora blew the horn, yelled, <And so this duel ends with a draw!> before she, Ren, and Penny climbed down from the commentary box to help.

The crowd went berserk, cheering and howling from the aftermath.

Weiss groaned, before she fell limp against Ruby.

“There, there, Weiss...” Ruby said, patting her with the hand that wasn’t half-frozen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fae saying, roughly translated: “If you don’t want to fight in the trees, don’t fight a monkey. If you don’t want to fight in the air, don’t fight a bird. If you don’t want to fight in the water, don’t fight a fish.”


	3. Chapter 3

Qrow and Winter were loaded into same air-ambulance, the emergency menders still operating on the both of them by the time the doors were closed, and the giant bird was spurred to take off to the treetops and the Bastion’s hospital.

Weiss watched them fly away, now tightly gripping onto one of Penny’s hands.

“Do you want those cookies now, Weiss…?” Ruby asked as held Penny’s other hand, to get her own defrosted.

“What I _want_ is an extra large triple chocolate cake shake, and/or the biggest bowl of blueberry frozen yogurt possible,” Weiss replied quietly. “Better yet: a time machine or spell, for me to go back and undo my past mistakes.”

“ _Yeah,_ pretty sure no one I know of has cracked the code for successful time travel, we don’t have any froyo in the house and it’ll be a while for anyone to go out and buy some, _but_ we can make a regular chocolate milkshake together!” Ruby replied. “Sound good?”

“It’s close enough,” Weiss replied, before the three of them headed off back to the house; around them, everyone else headed back to work, or cleaned up the grounds before resuming training.

Fifteen minutes later, Weiss sighed after she put down her latest glass of chocolate milkshake; Penny and Ruby readied a bowl and the ingredients again, Weiss held up her hand. “I’ve had enough, thanks...” she muttered.

Penny began to clean up, while Ruby reached out and touched Weiss’ shoulder. “Are you feeling better now, Weiss?” she asked.

“Relatively, considering that my life seems to going to hell in a hellbasket again!” Weiss snapped.

“Is there anything else I can do to help?” Ruby asked.

“An expanded explanation of how things got this bad would be appreciated…” Weiss muttered. “You can start with what you were doing before you accidentally killed Jaune.”

Ruby nodded as she took her hand back. “I was trying to teach him the basics of the Earth Fist—stances, basic strikes, conditioning exercises, that sort of thing.”

“And who thought it was a good idea to pit the objectively _worst_ fighter out of all us with one of the objectively _strongest_ Fae in the entire Viridian Valley?” Weiss asked.

“I did!” Penny said as she put the ingredient back in the fridge or the cupboards. “Ruby is indeed the best objective choice, because aside from her and Jaune’s matching alignments and her own mastery of the Earth Fist, she has the most exceptional and minute muscle control and endurance out of any of us.

“Thus, she can consistently produce the strikes and strength necessary for the appropriate amount of time.” she finished as she closed the fridge, and took the bowl to the sink.

“Earth Fist is all about repeating the same things, over and over again, gradually getting longer and more difficult as the student gets tougher and better over time,” Ruby continued. “We were training defense then, so I was hitting him again and again, till _just_ a bit before the point he can’t take anymore.”

“And you were all certain you couldn’t use Blake, or anyone else for this?” Weiss asked.

Ruby shook her head. “Blake and Ren both move _way_ too fast for Jaune and can’t hit hard enough for someone as tough as him; Yang and Nora can’t hit as consistently as they need to; and Penny’s combat protocols weren’t built with brute force in mind.

“He was actually doing pretty good for a complete newbie! We were estimating his limit really low, but I had to keep ramping it up, otherwise we’d be there all day before any of us got tired.”

“Then I’m guessing you notched it up just a tad too much...?” Weiss asked.

“Oh, no, not at all!” Penny said as she set shut off the faucet, set the bowl to dry. “I was supervising Pyrrha and Yang having a full-contact sparring session nearby, and after reviewing both that and my peripheral vision footage, Pyrrha put Yang in a hold that made Jaune become _incredibly_ distracted, and unconsciously drop his guard,” she said as she came up to the table.

“… Okay, that I can understand, but was it really that hard of a hit?”

“It was because it struck him in the head,” Ruby replied. “I didn’t notice he’d lowered his arms because I was so focused with hitting him _just_ hard enough, and by the time I did, he was already on the ground.”

“So this was a case of wrong place, wrong time...” Weiss muttered.

“Exactly!” Ruby cried. “That’s what I told Winter, more or less, and Pyrrha backed me up—apparently, training accidents tend to happen a _lot_ when she’s around—but Winter wasn’t having any of it; she was freaking out really badly, especially since it took Penny a while to revive Jaune.”

“Lethal traumatic head injuries are among some of the most difficult to reverse and treat, for obvious reasons.” Penny hummed.

“I guess it also didn’t really help that she’s still pretty terrified of me and all...” Ruby muttered.

“We’ll do something about that eventually,” Weiss said. “Anyway, what happened next?”

“Uncle Qrow stepped in and took Winter aside, especially because it looked like she was about to panic-summon,” Ruby said. “They talked for a while, and it seemed to be going pretty well, until he said something that set her off again.”

“Which would be?”

“We don’t know,” Penny said. “We were all quite a distance away from them, not to mention I was dedicating most of my processing power to reviving Jaune.”

“We only really noticed when Winter and Uncle Qrow started yelling at each other, and I guess you already know what happened next...” Ruby said. “Guess we’re just going to have to wait until they’re all better to fill in the rest of the blanks, huh?”

Weiss sighed, her features drooping. “Unfortunately…”

“I guarantee that they will both make full recoveries in a relatively short period of time, Weiss!” Penny said. “Queensguard and Veteran Watchers are highly resilient, and an incident such as this ranks on the least severe end of the spectrum”

“That doesn’t really make me feel any better, Penny...”

“So what willl?” Ruby asked.

“I don’t know!” Weiss cried, throwing her arms up. “In case it hasn’t been obvious, I don’t exactly have the healthiest nor most expansive repertoire of coping mechanisms, nor people to employ them with!”

“Reper-what-now?” Ruby asked.

“Repertoire,” Weiss replied, “it’s a fancy word for ‘collection of things I usually do.’”

“Then it’s a fortunate turn of events that my mender protocols have an abundance of them!” Penny chimed, before she paused for a moment. “… And in an _un_ fortunate turn of events, I will only be able to administer them later, as there’s an urgent matter back at the training grounds I have to attend to. Excuse me, please,” she said as she got up and made for the door.

“Don’t let me keep you,” Weiss said, waving her off.

“Bye Penny!” Ruby said, waving, before she turned back to Weiss. “Can I throw some of my ideas out?”

“Go ahead.”

“We could go watch some Rune Rangers!” Ruby said. “That always takes my mind off things for a while.”

“ _Forgive me_ if I don’t want at the moment a show that’s almost entirely about gratuitous violence...” Weiss grumbled.

Ruby nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, “You want go head to the barn and— _oh_ , wait, they’re busy building your and Winter’s new house there, they’ve probably already shut off the power and the water lines...”

“Any _other_ ideas…?”

“Well, we could just cuddle on the couch and you can complain about how shitty your day’s been going!” Ruby said. “That always works, doesn’t it?”

Weiss frowned,, and asked, “Are you _sure_ you want to do this…?”

“100%!” Ruby replied, smiling. “I mean, that’s one of the many thing’s a girlfriend’s for, right?”

Weiss slowly smiled back. "Right...”

The two of them headed to the living, and sat down on the couch, Ruby first, Weiss settling down in her lap afterward. Weiss pulled her legs up and let her head fall against her chest, Ruby started gently stroking Weiss’ hair, her other hand on her thigh.

“This okay…?” Ruby asked softly.

“ _More_ than okay...” Weiss murmured, smiling.

“Want to vent now, or just stay like this for a while?”

“Vent.” Weiss said, frowning now. “Honestly? _F_ _uck_ today _!_ Everything should be calming down now, damn it! After the Eve of the Ether fiasco, Winter attacking the Valley, and our big, if ultimately temporary break-up, I thought even the forces governing my life would take a breather, but no:

“I just _can’t_ get a fucking break—not now, not ever!”

“Have I been a terrible, awful person in a past life who got away with it while I was alive then, and now Karma’s coming back to get me in the most unfair cosmic balancing act ever? Am I the victim of some sadistic deity who either thinks this is _funny,_ or wants to make me suffer like they do? Or is there just some sort of conspiracy around us, like they’re somehow _intentionally_ making my life as miserable as possible for whatever _fucking_ reason?!”

“… Sorry to butt-in, but was I suppose to answer any of those...?”

Weiss pulled her head away from Ruby’s chest, looked at her, and said, “No, not unless you’re clairvoyant and can give me an exact answer.”

“Yeah, Keepers don’t have that sort of power, and it’s a pain to get to the _really_ classified records, sorry,” Ruby replied.

Weiss sighed, and put her head back to Ruby’s chest. “It’s fine…” she muttered quietly. “I guess it’s just wishful thinking, that _any_ of the answers to my problems would _ever_ be easy...”

“Maybe, maybe not, but whatever the case, just know you’ve got me by your side, Weiss,” Ruby said, before she kissed the top of Weiss’ head, looked right into her eyes and gave her a warm smile.

Weiss blushed, and began to squirm off Ruby’s lap.

“Woah, something the matter Weiss?” Ruby asked as she let her go.

“Yes!” Weiss said quickly as she resettled herself beside Ruby, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Mind telling me what it is, please...?”

Weiss looked at Ruby, and quickly tore her gaze away, an uneasy expression on her face. “It’s just… I… it’s... that was such a sweet and tender moment, and I _sincerely_ appreciate it, but I’m bothered by the fact that that look you gave me kinda turned me on!”

“And that’s a problem _why…?”_ Ruby asked.

Weiss blinked, and hesitantly looked back at Ruby. “You mean that doesn’t bother you...?”

“No, not at all!” Ruby replied. “As a matter of fact, if you’re still interested, I am now, too...” she hummed as she put a hand on Weiss’ thigh.

Weiss blushed and stiffened. “Ruby, we are in _the living room!_ Anyone could walk in on us—Penny especially, which’d make it _especially_ awkward!”

“We can always just move into my bedroom, which is both free and has a lock on it,” Ruby said, taking her hand off Weiss thigh and pointing to it. “Penny won’t be able to hear through the walls unless we’re really loud, too, or she’s intentionally listening in—which she doesn’t do nor need to do, usually.”

“Didn’t my sister and your uncle just finish almost outright murdering each other…?” Weiss said. “How are you so game for—well, you know!”

“But neither of them _die_ _d_ , and they’re both definitely going to be fine eventually, and folks getting injured or almost killed is nothing new to us watchers, nor does it bother us that much.” Ruby replied. “Does it bother you, Weiss…?” she asked softly.

“… Yes, yes it really does.” Weiss said hesitantly. “I’m sorry, Ruby, but I just can’t, not right now.”

“Okay!” Ruby said, before she leaned back on the couch and relaxed.

Weiss blinked. “… Wait, what do you mean ‘Okay.’?”

“I mean, ‘Okay, so you’re not game. so we’re not gonna--’” Ruby made a sexy animal noise.

“… Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“You sounded really ready for it just now!”

“I still kinda am, but you aren’t, so we’re not going to.”

Weiss paused, and slumped back on the couch. “… Is it _really_ fucked up that I’m more surprised this is going _exactly_ as the cheesy holos in Sex Ed class say they should…?”

“Yes, but I’m not really surprised, Weiss: there’s a lot OF people that suck at this part of sex.” Ruby replied.

Weiss nodded slowly. “… Hey Ruby?”

“Yeah, Weiss?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Ruby chuckled as she leaned towards Weiss. “Go right on ahead.”

“Thank you,” Weiss said, before she did.

It was a soft, gentle kiss, none of the hunger or the passion they usually had, no opening mouths, no tongues tangling with each other, no hands roaming the others’ bodies, just the sensation of Ruby’s lips yielding and moulding to Weiss’ own, her hand gently cupping Weiss’ cheek, her fingers caressing it as they slowly pulled away.

“… That was nice.” Weiss muttered, blushing bright red.

“Yep!” Ruby said. “So, feeling better?”

“Yes… thank you, Ruby.”

“You’re welcome, Weiss,” Ruby said. “Do you want to sit in my lap again and snuggle?”

“Absolutely,” Weiss said before she eagerly climbed back on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, both Fae and human societies consider treating your partner well and respectfully as a key part of sex. As the saying goes, “Being your best in the bedroom starts outside of it.”
> 
> There is going to be no Sexy Animal Noise version of this scene. As Weiss mentioned, the thought of Winter being hospitalized for such grievous injuries is a huge turn-off.


	4. Chapter 4

As all good things do, the cuddling on the couch had to come to an end, after Ruby got a message from Yang asking her to come back to the training grounds for some more “good old sibling wrestling bonding time!”

“You should go.” Weiss said as she began to climb off Ruby’s lap again.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay a while longer?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.” Weiss replied as she sat down beside her. “I know how excited I am to be with Winter again after she comes back from months’ long deployments, I can’t even _imagine_ what it’s like if I had to wait my entire life to see her again in-person.”

Ruby smiled, and kissed Weiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Weiss.”

Weiss blushed. “You’re welcome, Ruby—now go on, have fun with your sister.”

“Oh, I will!” Ruby cried as she got up, and hurried on out the door, Weiss watching her go until she slammed the door behind her.

Then, it was all quiet in the house.

Weiss looked around, uneasy; it was the same interior as it always was, save for a few recent additions like a new Rose-Xiao Long family photograph hung next to the original, but now, there was no one else except her, and probably only her for a long time yet.

Her hand strayed to her comm-crystal, before she stopped, laid her head down on the couch and pulled her legs up. _“If life is going to slow down on its own, might as well take advantage of it,”_ she thought as she closed her eyes, and began to drift off to sleep.

She woke up to someone gently shaking her awake. “I am very sorry to disturb your rest, Weiss, but your presence has been requested at the Weaver’s Terrace as soon as possible.” Penny said softly.

Weiss grumbled and reluctantly got up, wiping some drool off her face, until her hand almost immediately froze to her face. Penny put her hand on top of hers, and her skin was defrosted without incident.

Weiss sighed, and shook her head. “Thanks… now let’s go...” she muttered as she got up off the couch.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay a while longer?” Penny asked. “You were asleep for an hour, past the optimum 20-30 minutes, and it might also be prudent to have a snack before you leave.”

“I’m fine, and not after all those milkshakes, it’s not,” Weiss grumbled as she headed for the door. “Is the boat to the barn still working?”

“It is.” Penny replied, nodding as she followed after her. “It can function with only the motors here, though not as quickly.”

“Then let’s get my gear, and start trying to get my powers under control _again_ ,” Weiss said, casting a surly look at her gloved hand as she made for the door.

* * *

The Terrace was _very_ different after Weiss arrived at its tube station.

There were barely any folks around that morning, offering bowls and altars picked clean or already starting to go bad, and even the animals seemed to be keeping to the deeper parts of the trees and the foliage, out of sight and mind. The whole place had the feeling of an almost abandoned temple grounds, just a handful of watchers, weavers, and other Fae going about keeping an eye on the place, or running the essential infrastructure and jobs there.

Even the monkeys were absent, and the lack of their chattering and screeching bothered Weiss more than their blueberry assaults had.

“Is it _always_ like this after the Eve, or has the Terrace just not recovered yet…?” Weiss asked as she and Penny made their way to the stairs.

“It’s a mixture of both.” Penny replied. “Most weavers tend to become very exhausted after the Eve from the extreme mana surge, there’s a variety of other magical phenomena all over the Valley that requires their attention, and obviously the aftermath of the attack have left _quite_ a lot of them rattled.

“Mental health issues notwithstanding, weavers tend to be more neurotic than other Fae.”

“I don’t doubt it!” Weiss muttered as they started to climb to the Terrace proper.

The feelings of unease ebbed away as they finally reached the top, Weiss saw the other weavers going about training and work as usual, the air charged and alive with their magic, like all manner of ripples, currents, and waves in a lively sea.

“Man, it feels like months since I was last here!” Weiss said as she and Penny hitched a ride with some other weavers on an enchanted could.

“I’m not surprised!” Penny said as they lifted up, and began to fly over the quadrants. “The sheer amount of consequential events recently feel more fitting for a monthly or quarterly review, rather than going over the events of the past two weeks.”

“Speaking of events: what _can_ I expect out of today?” Weiss asked. “I’m sure Elder Goodwitch won’t be training me again, at least.”

“And you would be correct in your assumption!” Penny chimed. “It’s highly unlikely she’ll be personally mentoring you again in the foreseeable future, especially with recent events, but your new mentor was already recruited since we confirmed your powers, and she’s still willing and available.”

“And _who is she_ , exactly?” Weiss asked.

“She actually requested it be a secret, until she could reveal it in person!” Penny replied as she and Weiss made it to their destination, where they were both enchanted with more air magic, they thanked the other weavers, then jumped off the cloud.

“She also asked me to inform you that she had specifically involved several other weavers here along with some of the watchers from the Roost, and that she will be ‘extremely disappointed and more than a little pissed-off’ if anyone revealed her identity prematurely.” Penny continued as they began to gently glide down into the Water quadrant.

Weiss nodded as they flew over a series of dedicated combat training areas, targets and dummies sticking up on stilts or on boats, platforms and obstacle courses bobbing up and down in the water, and buoys and signs hinting at so much more underneath the surface.

Many were left unused, but the few that had Fae training in them gave Weiss’ quite the vivid picture of what sort of intense training could happen there, ones involving ambushes and attacks from beneath the water especially.

“This isn’t going to be like one of those holos where the martial arts master decides to introduce themselves by ambushing, and potentially beating the ever loving daylights out of their new student, is it?” Weiss asked as their feet hit the ground again, the enchanted air disappeared.

“Oh no, not at all!” Penny replied as they resumed walking, to the one of the largest arenas. “Rest assured I have been briefed on the entirety of your new mentor’s planned introduction, and I actually refused to allow it to happen until she could guarantee me that you will not be at risk of _any_ sort of harm.”

“So I’m assuming things are going to get crazy pretty soon?” Weiss asked as she noticed a small army of watchers and weavers camped out on the bleachers, getting up after they saw her, informing their napping or distracted fellows of her presence.

“If all goes according to plan, which I am quite confident it will.” Penny said as they finally stopped, just a ways beneath the band stand, complete with musicians readying and tuning their instruments. “Please, take a seat when you’re ready, and the show can begin.”

Weiss looked around at the army descending to the platforms and boats, the turrets and buoys, or into the water, at the elementals being summoned, then at the band just above her. She debated it for a moment, before she sat down, Penny following suit beside her.

Weiss flinched as the band exploded into bombastic battle music, beginning with the horns section.

A shield went up around the bleachers as the water churned and glowed with the hues of several weavers’ magic, muffled sounds of a ferocious battle rose up from the depths, the fighters above the surface tensed up, readying their weapons, spells, and elementals.

A whirlpool started to form, tiny at first before it began to rapidly expand and strengthen; the fighters above the water braced themselves as the boats began to get sucked in, the chains and the anchors on the platforms started to rattle, and even the sturdy docks Weiss, Penny, and the band on were starting to creak.

Woosh!

The whirpool exploded upwards into a spiral, beaten-up watchers, weavers, and familiars flying off every which way, their companions catching them, dodging them as they went hurtling past, or went right along with them and into the water.

The spiral began to fall, Weiss gaped as she saw Primal Aeilana at its peak, grinning like a maniac as she punched out a shark elemental three times her size.

The poor summon finally flew off her fist and dissipated, everyone else in the arena started taking aim at Aeilana, if they weren’t already firing with everything they had—water lasers, icicles, nets, bolts, arrows, knives, and giant bubbles filled with highly unstable and explosive mana, among other ammunition and offensive spells.

Shields and walls of ice blocked them. Rogue waves and tendrils of water knocked them off course. Aeilana’s hands or her twin hooks caught them, and sent them flying right back at their senders.

The watchers and weavers went on the defensive, ducking, dodging, and shielding each other, throwing up their defenses. Elementals exploded back into magic and water, taking hits for the others, or just getting caught out of cover. Yelling and orders filled the air as Aeilana landed completely unscathed on the water, the army regrouped and prepared for a third assault.

Behind Weiss, the music switched to a relatively quieter but still lively pace.

The arena darkened as storm clouds suddenly appeared above them, bringing with them torrential, blinding rain, ripples forming all over the barrier in front of Weiss as it blocked the weather and stray projectiles, holos popping up in front of her as it became impossible to see out of the shield.

The water roiled as rogue waves crashed all over boats and the platforms, more whirlpools, and patches of ice appeared all over the surface. Jets of water, pillars of ice, and small glaciers burst up all around, knocking folks around, giving them cover, or just someplace to stand. Tendrils of magic and water lashed out and tried to grab at Aeilana, the other Fae and the elementals, pulling them to safety or throwing them headlong into danger, holding them steady amid the chaos or open to attack.

Weapons clashed. Strikes were thrown with hands, claws, feet, paws, talons, tails, and the odd hoof. The fighters almost seemed to be doing an intricate dance with Aeilana as the star, their motions and stances fluid and graceful, every successful hit and counterattack brutal and decisive.

Aeilana tore through the army’s ranks, wiping them out with the waves and the storm, trapping them in ice, or simply beating up them so badly they could only float on the water or lay flat on wherever else they landed.

The remaining fighters yelled something in Actaeon, both Aeilana and her opponents disengaged and went on separate sides of the arena, the latter closer to Weiss. As the musicians began to build up to loud, bombastic climax, Weiss watched as the weavers poured out all the magic they had into the water, mana surging and spiraling around a sea serpent elemental, its head towering three stories above the surface.

It blocked out the sun and shook the whole arena as it roared, its whole body glowing bright and pulsing with magic.

Aeilana was intimidated as she stood on top of an enchanted wave, raising her hooks and roaring right back.

At the weavers’ command, the sea serpent fired a beam of water, the pressure so great its sound drowned out the music and the storm!

Aeilana blocked the beam with her hooks, her whole body raging and pulsing with magic as the wave beneath her grew stronger, rising higher and higher until she was right up to the sea serpent’s maw, its own beam splashing back at its face.

Slash!

Aeilana cut off its head, lines of mana and water spraying and gushing into the air!

The weavers and the watchers down below either ducked for cover, or dove back into the water as Aeilana, her wave, and what remained of the sea serpent began to fall, like a powerful rain at first, before the rest of it crashed and exploded.

Weiss braced herself as water came rushing towards her, splitting in half and gushing around the magic barrier, into drains built into the bleachers. The musicians played some triumphant fanfare, before they quieted down as Aeilana stepped through the barrier and stood before Weiss.

“Did you just see all that?!” Aeilana yelled, still grinning. “Don’t answer, because I know you just bore witness to the mini-blowing _awesomeness_ that Water weaving is capable of, and that you—yes, _you_ —can eventually learn to match, or better yet, top and raise the bar for weavers _everywhere!”_

She pointed at Weiss, her hand so close she could see the dozens of old scars and more recent wounds, the scale-like texture of Aeilana’s skin, the webs between her fingers. “Do _you_ want to master your magic, and learn to unleash your full potential, perform feats the likes of which Avalon has never seen before?”

Weiss waited for a few moments, before she answered, “Uh, I’d just like to get a handle on them, honestly--”

“Which you **will** if I have anything to say about it, _but that better not be your end-goal!”_ Aeilana yelled as she put her hands on her hips. “You have been blessed with all this power and potential for a _reason_ , and as you’re a potential Keeper’s mate, I doubt it’s ‘just gain control then never do anything more with it!’

“So _come_ _along_ , and follow me to my sanctuary for the _real_ start of your weaver training!” Aeilana cried, grinning. “It’s a cave down in the water, and keep Penny with you so she can give you air if you need it, since it’s a long swim to the entrance, and _boy_ does that tunnel feel like it stretches on for forever sometimes!

“Anyway: jump in, when you’re ready,” she finished calmly, before she turned around, dove back into the water, and disappeared from sight.

The musicians started heading off, the weavers and watchers from earlier started to climb out of the water, tending to their injuries or fishing their fellows out.

Weiss turned to Penny and whispered, “… Is it too late to switch mentors…?”

“I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice.” Penny whispered back. “The rest of the qualified and willing mentors are either busy with other matters, or unwilling to take on the extra load of a special, unorthodox student like yourself, and the Council is _insistent_ that you resume regular weaver training immediately.

“I _sincerely_ doubt they will take your personal preference as a valid reason to expend the considerable resources and opportunity cost to look for a new mentor.”

Weiss sighed. “Why am I not surprised…?”

Aeilana popped her head out of the water. “Hey, I know I said ‘when you’re ready’ and all, but none of us have all day!”

“Sorry, we’ll be right there!” Weiss called out, before she turned back to Penny. “You’re still going to be with me for all of it, aren’t you?”

Penny smiled. “It’d be a waste of all my weaver protocols and my new upgrades otherwise.”

Weiss smiled, and put on her mask. _ **“Let’s do this,”** _ she said as she held her hand out to Penny.

“With pleasure,” Penny replied as she took it, before the two of them jumped into the water, and followed Aeilana to whatever awaited Weiss next.


	5. Chapter 5

In hindsight, Weiss probably shouldn’t have been so surprised that the Water quadrant was so much more expansive and impressive underwater than it was above.

It was like a whole different world down there, with giant coral reefs, expansive kelp forests, and thriving wildlife; elaborate floating obstacle courses, arenas, and training areas kept in place by anchors or special buoys attached to certain points; and all manner of stone structures and sunken vessels as far as the eye could see, the runes on them humming and pulsing with magic even through the layers of barnacles and algae growing over them, if the organic matter weren’t intentionally integrated into the architecture and the hull already.

Underwater beacons regularly pulsed with warm orange light and invisible waves of magic, vines with Fae oxygen masks dangling around it, signs for instructions when recharging from it, be they Fae, elemental, or vehicle. Floating nets and filters turned and wavered with the current, catching and sucking in the debris and wastes that came its way, strange fish and crustaceans either feeding off of them, or catching what they missed. Massive floating rings hummed with power, some only big enough for a handful of folks to pass through shoulder-to-shoulder and swimming tightly together, a handful large enough for a whale or a large submarine to swim through no problem.

Weiss watched Aeilana pass through one before rocketing off, even deeper into the water; she and Penny approached one, and after a moment’s hesitation and tightening her grip on Penny’s hand, Weiss went through it, chasing after the slipstreams Aeilana left in her wake.

The sunlight began to fade, replaced by the orange glow of the beacons, underwater lights here and there, the glow of bioluminescent creatures and algae. The muted sounds from above the water disappeared completely, now there was only the currents, the hum of the magitech, and the rush of water as Weiss and Penny passed through the rings. Caves in the Terrace’s mountain, sprawling underwater temples and structures, and much older, monolithic beacons started to come into view, resonating with a _very_ different kind of magic than the ones higher up.

Powerful. Ominous. Slowly but steadily _crushing_ , pressing down on Weiss on all sides, making it difficult to breath, harder to move, cold starting to seep into her bones...

She felt Penny’s arms wrap around her, warmth slowly but steadily pouring into her, the weight lifting. Penny’s eyes and magic started to grow brighter, lighting the area around them in a friendly green haze. She locked eyes with Weiss’ through her mask, put one of her hands where her mouth and nose would be.

Weiss began to slowly breathe in and breath out, her heart slowing down, the rising panic ebbing away.

Penny pulled her hand of Weiss’ mouth, raised her arm and its tablet attachment up. “Better?”

Weiss nodded, and they continued to descending to the very bottom of the Water quadrant.

There was a flashing in the corner of Weiss’ eyes, the colour of Aeilana’s magic. She and Penny swam to where she was, Weiss watched as Aeilana put her hand to a featureless section of rock, it opened up to reveal a tunnel with an enchanted vortex slowly spinning in the center of it.

Aeilana gestured for them to go in, Weiss and Penny did. They were gently pulled along first, before it got faster and faster, taking them through a convoluted series of turns and checkpoints before it turned straight up. Weiss watched in awe at the carvings all around them, glowing and surging with magic, elementals like fish swimming around her, the darkness rapidly fading away as she got closer and closer to a bright, beaming light at the top of the tunnel…

_Splash!_

Weiss gasped, dazed for a moment as they broke through the surface of the water, her head kept above it by the force of the vortex still beneath her. She stared and gawked at the cave around her, every inch of its surface covered in ancient runes, the figures and the scenes around it moving and playing out before her eyes:

Stories of great battles and legendary hunts, streams of magic flowing and spraying as blood was shed, weavers going against horrific monsters, armies of their fellow Fae, or rivals depicted in as great detail and regard as them.

Stories of miracles and fantastic feats, great cities, vibrant plantlife, and abundant wildlife sprouting up in the aftermath of weavers summoning storms in drought, creating rivers where there was barren wasteland, and cooling frost where there was only scorching heat.

Stories of revolutionary work and creation, potions and serums that brought life back to an ailing populace or invigorated it with new life, machines and structures that dramatically reshaped the world around them, and new spells so powerful they swept through the whole mural like a wave, ushering in the next series of tales.

Aeilana popped up soon after, already swimming to the edge and climbing up a set of stairs. “Welcome to the Water Primal’s Sanctuary, Weiss!” she cried, grinning as she spread her arms out wide. “Feel free to gawk and drink it all in; I know it can all be too much your first time.”

Weiss nodded dumbly as she still gazed at the living mural around her. _**“**_ _ **Are these all**_ _ **of**_ _ **the Primals?”**_ she asked.

“Not all of them!” Penny replied. “But, those are the ones who either asked not to be included, or were kicked out of the position for one reason or another. Similar to the Protectors of Truth in the Chuch of the Holy Shepherd, they can be impeached and/or ousted from office in case of grave misdemeanors and other high crimes.”

Weiss nodded again, before she began to swim to the edge. _**“How big is this place?”**_ she asked as she climbed out of the water.

“ _Pretty fucking big!”_ Aeilana replied. “I swear, every time someone with a magitech bent becomes a Primal, they just _have_ to expand the Sanctuary, and add even **more** things to it! Honestly, don’t even bother trying to learn the whole layout, it’s a giant mess and most of it is closed off at the moment, anyway.

“And before you ask: you or anyone else are going to have to give me a DAMN good argument to convince me to unseal those chambers.”

“ _ **Understood,”**_ Weiss said before she took off her mask and magicked most of the excess water off of her, Penny evaporating the rest and warming her back up. “So what parts of this place _are_ open at the moment?”

“The ones that matter. Come on, I’ll show you one of them,” Aeilana replied, beckoning to her with a hand before she turned into a large tunnel leading out of the cave.

Weiss looked at the other exits currently sealed off with rock or ice, before she and Penny followed on after Aeilana. True to her word, the path ahead was filled with sealed off entrances and dead-ends, crossroads with only one remaining choice, large circular hubs that had only a handful of their exits still open.

“What did they have in these tunnels, before they got closed off?” Weiss asked.

“Eh, personal laboratories, storage rooms, equipment rooms, special Raucous Rooms, contingency plans, or extra dorms, kitchens, animal tanks and barns, and whatever the fuck else,” Aeilana replied. “Basically _whatever_ they needed or wanted, a lot of the previous Primals were fussy like that.

“Me, though? I like to take the simple, utilitarian approach, just the _absolute_ basics you can use for almost anything and everything, kinda like getting a quality set of free weights, instead of spending on those ridiculous exercise machines.

“You have too much crap and baggage to keep track of, you end up not getting much of anything done, or you just end up off-loading it to someone else, and _that’s not_ how I want to roll as a Primal, how I want folks to remember me.

“Speaking of which!” Aeilana stopped, and gestured to a tunnel exit, covered with an ornately decorated arch brimming with thriving coral, jewel-like ice, and magic. “You first—and with Penny staying outside, I want it to be just us two in there.”

Weiss looked at Aeilana skeptically.

“It’s for a good reason, I promise.” Aeilana replied, smiling.

Weiss sighed. _“Fine.”_ She turned to Penny and bade her goodbye, before she and Aeilana stepped into the tunnel, then out into another wide, circular cave. Only the path to the center and a pedestal were brightly lit, the rest of it was shrouded in darkness.

“What _is_ this place?” Weiss asked.

“The Gallery.” Aeilana replied as she put her hand on the pedestal, magic surging from her hand and into the rock.

The whole of the cave suddenly lit up clear as day, unseen altars all around them activating. Weiss turned around and watched as statues, tableaux, and memorials formed and erupted all around her, images of Fae standing proud, reliving some great battle or historic achievement, or models of their magnum opuses or their crafts.

Some were static, cast in stone, metal, or ice; others moved, enchanted streams of water pouring out from spouts and fountains; but all had plaques with the weavers’ names on them, the dates they had served, and some of their most notable accomplishments.

“These are the past Primals of Water who’re in display this month,” Aeilana explained, gesturing to the altars around them. “The differences between us are bigger than all the bodies of water in Avalon combined, but there is one thing we have in common:

“We all managed to raise the bar for elemental weaving.

“However we did it, few could match what we’d done and could do, until we died, decided it’s time to retire and pass the title onto the best of the next generation, or got shown the hard way that someone had become better than us.

“Maybe you won’t become the next Primal, but I’ll be _damned_ if you don’t end up as one of the greatest weavers to have ever lived. You know why? Don’t answer: because even if you’re shooting ice and water out of your hands, you’ve got that same fire in your belly that your grandpa had.

Aeilana put her hands on Weiss’ shoulders, bent her knees to look her in the eyes, and asked, “Tell, me Weiss: what did you do, what did you accomplish thanks to that fire inside you?”

“A series of rash, impulsive, and disastrous decisions like joining my father’s very first expedition into the Valley? Faking my own death on live HoloVision? All the other self-inflicted miseries I’ve subjected myself to over the years from a combination of anger issues, impatience, and misguided determination, usually in matters of romance, almost exactly like Grandpa?”

“… Wow, they really weren’t kidding when they said you had a lot of issues, huh?”

“No, no they were not.” Weiss said as she slowly shook her head.

“Okay, you know what? Let me answer that for you instead:

“It helped you survive through that absolutely bullshit life you had under your asshat of a dad. It kept you going strong and going hard when most people would have long thrown in the towel, thought it’s all over, best to just lay back, float, and see where you’ll wash up, if you don’t sink first. It’s a big part of that mana surging in you right now, and not to discount your friends, your girlfriend, or the might of the Keeper’s scythe, but most of that kickass ice beam you stopped that crazy bitch Cinder Fall with?

“That was _you_ , Weiss.

“You have the power, the potential, and most importantly, the drive and the determination to master your magic and change the realm for the better in a Big Way, capital letters, just like your Grandpa when he managed to lead his expedition to Candela.”

Aeilana smiled.“And together, we’re going to help you get there.”

“And who’s we, exactly?” Weiss asked.

“Me and the rest of my students, and your new classmates,” Aeilana replied, patting Weiss on the shoulders before she stood back up. “They’ve all been wondering when exactly they were going to be able to meet you in person, ever since Glynda told us you’d be in my class after your first visit, and _especially_ after all the shit that’s gone down recently.”

Weiss frowned. “I’m not exactly the best learner in group environments...” she said.

“Well too bad, because you’re going to have to adapt and go with our flow down here!” Aeilana said, gently patting Weiss’ on the back and coaxing her back out the exit. “That’s one of the first lessons us Water weavers need to learn, you know.”

Weiss sighed. “Is there anything in particular I should know?”

“Just four things, three of which you need to know right now: we’re almost all girls, with just the one guy; only one of them speaks and understands straight Nivian like we do; and all of them are younger than you—our youngest is 10, our oldest is 15.” Aeilana explained as the altars deactivated, and the room went dark once more.

“So not only am I delayed by Fae standards, I’m also even _more_ of an outcast than the only Human-Fae hybrid, and there’s a language barrier, to boot,” Weiss said flatly. “Great, just great.”

Aeilana patted her on the shoulder. “You’ll live, Weiss—if what _already_ happened to you hasn’t killed you and/or broken your spirit, I seriously doubt anything else life can throw at you from now on will.”

She would end up being right on one account, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extremely intense concentrations of magic, as can be found in the much, much older parts of the Weaver’s Terrace can be harmful to young and/or inexperienced weavers.
> 
> Fire weavers describe it as so intense they feel they’re burning or will turn to ash or simply vaporize. Earth weavers feel suffocated and trapped with no way to escape. Wind weavers feel like they’re going to get blown away and subsequently ripped apart at any second, and/or lethally electrocuted. Water weavers feel crushing, cold pain, and/or steadily creeping, incredibly painful frostbite.
> 
> Aeilana would normally escort her students and guests down there, unless they’ve already got someone accompanying them who can handle the intensity. Same goes for the other Primals’ sanctuaries.
> 
> P.S. Aeilana is very tall, at 6’3 ft or 195.50 cm. Weiss has no high heels nor footware, so cut off about four inches from her official height chart.


	6. Chapter 6

The Sanctuary’s Common Room was like an indoor pool for a fancy hotel, a massive cavern that stretched upward to allow for multiple levels, a series of diving boards, slides for the pools, and even a hot spring, heated and powered by some invisible pipes or geothermic vents that Weiss couldn’t see.

Surrounding it were benches, tables, and nests made of sturdy wood, stone, or even undersea plant matter; mini kitchens, bars, and an indoor grill; and storage for recreational materials such as pool toys and equipment for sports.

There was a giant window to the outside on one side of the cave—Actual glass, or an incredibly detailed holographic screen, Weiss didn’t know—with an arrangement of deep sea corals, kelp, and other aquatic plants providing life and colour in the inky blackness.

Inside, numerous tapestries, paintings, reliefs, and decorative fountains did the same, keeping the cave walls from looking drab and dull; even the towels that hung over the backs of chairs waiting to be used, or hung out to dry looked like fine pieces of art, the kinds of carefully woven fabrics that took months to create by hand, and years if not decades more of training and mastery to be able to bring it to life in the first place...

… Which made it all the more jarring for Weiss to see a horse Fae step out of the pool, grab one and casually dry herself off, before tossing it to a nearby lounge chair without a second thought.

“Oh, hey, you’re finally here!” she said, smiling at Weiss as she stepped up, flicking some excess water off her luxurious hair and equally voluminous tail. “Welcome to the Water Weaver’s Sanctuary and our group, Weiss! I’m Gathibiyya, but you can just call me Bee,” she said as she extended a hand.

Weiss blankly stared at her for a moment, before she took it. “Pleasure to meet you...” she muttered.

“Something the matter?” Bee asked, frowning slightly.

“I guess I’m just not used to seeing casually naked Fae outside of the hot springs, is all.” Weiss replied, firmly keeping her gaze on Bee’s face.

Bee’s eyes widened. “Oh, right—sorry!” she hurried off to the lounge chair.

“Better get used to it soon, Weiss, because you’re going to be seeing a _lot_ more of Bee from here on out, both because she loves skinny dipping, and that she’s my second-in-command!” Aeilana said. “Any time I’m not around, or gotta be busy with something or someone else, her word is as good as mine.”

“I look forward to training with you and seeing what we can accomplish together,” Bee said as she returned with her towel wrapped around her. “It’s not every day you get the privilege of being in the same class as a Keeper’s mate, after all!”

“Speaking of the gang, where the hell are they?” Aeilana asked, peering around.

“Currently in one of the dormitories having a group discussion, Primal,” Bee replied. “I’d already said what I needed to say, so I decided to swim a bit while we waited for you three to arrive.”

“Well tell ‘em to come on out!” Aeilana replied. “Get geared up with their game faces on, too, we’re starting with Weiss’ initiation rite ASAP!”

Bee nodded, and bowed. “At once, Primal!” she said, before she hurried on off to a series of exits to the side.

“Is this going to be another demonstration I have to watch?” Weiss asked.

Aeilana grinned. “Nah! This time, you get to be part of the show,” she replied, patting Weiss on the shoulder before headed for a different exit. “I gotta go get things ready, you and the rest of the gals just introduce yourselves, and get to know each other.”

“Don’t let me keep you, Primal,” Weiss said, bowing, before she discreetly shot a look at Penny.

She smiled, and said, “Again, I would not have agreed to let you participate in any of these if you were at significant risk of harm.”

“Is this ‘sitting behind an impenetrable shield’ sort of safe like earlier, or the ‘we’ve got more than enough firepower to wipe out a small army’ sort of safe?”

“The latter,” Penny replied. “Though I’m not at liberty to fully describe the initiation rite to you, as per Primal Aeilana’s orders, I _can_ say it will be similar to your session in Maker Abner’s Raucous Room.”

Weiss nodded, before she took a seat at a curved bench nearby, and waited for the others to arrive.

Soon, Bee returned, with three other girls trailing obediently behind her, all of them dressed in their armour with their focuses in tow.

Bee’s gear was about as traditional as you could get, long, flowing, and elegant, with decorations in the form of a herd of galloping horses making their way up from the hem of her skirt, across her chest, and down one of her sleeves, their lower halves like surging waves. Her focus was a weaver’s staff, currently collapsed, its silvery studs and bands glimmering in the light of the cavern.

She looked at Weiss and waved, before gazing over her shoulder to check on the others.

The turtle Fae behind to her was MUCH more heavily armed and armoured, wearing what looked like an exo-suit, most of its mass around her shoulders and her torso, a giant shell of metal, rock, and composites. Instead of one focus, she had several, a large cannon being carried in both her hands, and even more strapped to her back.

She caught Weiss looking at her, and quickly averted her eyes, her head retreating into her shell.

The salamander Fae after her stood like a sore thumb, wearing not robes but a leather jacket and pants with so many buckles, straps, pouches, and holsters, she would have looked much more at home with the hobbyist airship pilots in Ciel Solaris than down here underwater. Her focus seemed to be a claw, a sling for sports, a hookshot, or a hybrid of all three, Weiss couldn’t tell much except for the fact that it seemed to be a hodgepodge creation welded together from pieces of scrap.

She grinned and brightened up as she saw Weiss, an unnerving sight for the two prominent fangs she had, not unlike a venomous snake’s.

The last in line was a honey badger Fae, her robe abandoning the usually bright and proud hues for more discrete tones, with form-fitting leather sections studded with metal, similar to Blake’s gear. Her focuses appeared to be two metal claws over her own, with more sharp metal devices and knives strapped to her legs, her sleeves, and her belt.

She saw Weiss, and her flat, almost emotionless expression changed in an instant; she recovered just as quickly, and was too away for Weiss to really see what had come over her.

They all stopped before Weiss and Penny in a semicircle. <Everyone, this is Weiss, our new classmate, and Penny, her friend and personal mender!> Bee started, gesturing to them. “Weiss, Penny, these are your new classmates.

“This is Cheska, 14 years old, and our resident expert in all things magitech!” Bee said, gesturing to the turtle Fae. “Her family actually alternates between living here and in Candela every year or two, which means she can read and understand Nivian perfectly, along with having experienced a lot of the same things as you! _However_ , she’s _also_ mute, and is _very_ shy and reluctant to speak or communicate in general, especially with folks she just met.

“Say hi, Cheska!”

Still quite literally hiding in her shell, Cheska meekly raised a hand and waved, before she quickly put it down.

Bee moved onto the next. “This is Nami, 10 years old, and a born alchemist just like you! I’ve never really met someone so eager, so enthusiastic, and so talented with manipulating chemicals and mediums, though I would _seriously_ advise you not to test, nor drink _anything_ she offers you.

<Say hi, Nami!> Bee said.

<Sup, Raindrop!> Nami said, grinning.

“Why does she sound like that?” Weiss asked.

“Accent,” Bee replied. “She was born and raised in Celestion for most of her life, and she wants to keep it.”

“Thanks to their geographical and cultural separation and isolation from the Eldan Fae, the Celestian Fae have developed entire dictionaries’ worth of new terms, unique pronunciations, and slang.” Penny added.

“Moving on: this is Fireki, 13 years old, and one of our two combat specialists, and an active member of the Watchers! There’s _really_ not much I can tell you about her as I don’t know much about her as she’s a very private individual, or she’s explicitly asked me not to tell you.

<Say hi, Fireki!>

<Hi.>

“And that’s almost all of us, except for Fireki’s brother!” Bee said. “Don’t worry about him, though, he’s not showing up today.”

Then, as if on queue, everyone was startled and looked up, past Weiss and at the entrance to the common room behind her.

Weiss looked over her shoulder, and found another honey badger Fae walking towards her, so like Fireki they were obviously fraternal twins. Unlike her, however, he had a deep scowl on his face and a look of cold murder in his eyes, all directed towards one individual:

Weiss.

<Feroki, what are you doing here?!> Bee snapped as she and Fireki quickly put themselves between Weiss and Feroki.

<Changed my mind.> Feroki replied as he continued to stalk up to Weiss.

Fireki intercepted him and put her hand on his chest. _< Don’t,> _she snarled.

Feroki snarled right back, the two siblings baring their teeth as frost began to pour out of their nostrils. Bee pulled out her staff and readied it, the others stepped up by Weiss’ sides, clambered on top of the bench opposite the one she sat on, or stood in front of her like a wall.

_< Hey!> _Aeilana shouted.

Everyone turned and watched Aeilana storm up to them with a deep scowl on her face, her eyes glowing ominously with her magic. <Feroki, with me— _NOW._ _> _ she snapped as she gripped Feroki’s shoulder. <Bee, no more crap till I get back!> she said as she hauled him off.

<Yes, Primal!> Bee said, before she gave Weiss an apologetic look.

She didn’t see it, too unnerved by the icy glare Feroki was giving her as he was taken away. He and Aeilana disappeared into one of the dorms, the entrance quickly sealed shut with a thick block of ice; soon after, an indistinct but _loud_ argument leaked through it.

“Okay, _what the hell just happened,_ and what is his problem?” Weiss asked as everyone else began to relax.

Bee asked Fireki something in Actaeon; Fireki hesitated for a moment, before she sighed, and nodded.

Bee turned to Weiss, and said, “Feroki and Fireki’s older brother died this Eve of the Ether.”

Weiss frowned. “Oh, that’s terrible—what happened?”

Bee hesitated for a moment, before she said, “He was a watcher, and he was killed in action during the emergency response to the Candela attack.”

“… Oh.”

“Fireki doesn’t blame you, I swear!” Bee added quickly. “Feroki on the other hand… well, he’s already in therapy, and we’ve already got a game plan ready to help him cope. Until he’s moved on, though, try not to interact with him unless you _strictly_ need to, and be with one of us just in case, Fireki ideally—she knows how to handle him more than any of us combined.

“I _promise_ , this is only a temporary problem—Primal Aeilana’s got a well-deserved reputation for handling flint-heads!”

The ice on the doorway disappeared with a loud crackle and shatter, Aeilana and Feroki both stepped out, the latter now in full gear, walking hunched over with a surly expression on his face as Aeilana escorted him back to the others.

“Sorry about that, Weiss!” Aeilana said, smiling. “Feroki here is going to behave now,” she said as she patted him on the shoulder. <Right, Feroki?>

Feroki grunted.

<Close enough.> Aeilana said, before she beckoned to the others. <Now come on, let’s all go to the Evoking Chamber! High time we finally welcome Weiss into our group properly.>

After Aeilana said it again in Nivian, Weiss asked, “What’s the Evoking Chamber?”

Aeilana grinned, and said, “The place where you’re going to face your fears, then murder the crap out of them!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flint-heads are so named because the slightest bit of friction will cause sparks, and more often than not, fire.


	7. Chapter 7

Aeilana led them down a tunnel descending deeper into the sanctuary, until they stepped out to a giant, round cavern—the Evoking Chamber.

The floor was wide, flat, and flooded up to ankle-height, the only furnishings in the room being signs warning of the sudden drop into the deep end, a first-aid station, and an ominous looking altar right in the center of it all.

There were lights all over the walls and even under the water, the whole space clearly lit, and somehow even more ominous.

Aeilana stepped up to Weiss, put a hand on her shoulder then pointed at the altar. “See that? I want you to put your hands on it. It’s going to create an elemental, its power level matching yours at max capacity, and its form based on your deepest fears. It’s going to feel _super_ weird when it probes your brain, but it’s not going to cause any lasting damage.”

Weiss nodded. “Can I ask if whoever made this had a great appreciation for exposure therapy?”

“Nah, it’s just part of how the machine does what it does—you can ask Penny about the details sometime, though it’ll probably be pretty vague at your clearance levels. Anyway, whatever comes out that thing is going to be automatically hostile, and focus on whoever brought it to life—in other words, you.”

“And I suppose I’ll have to kill it, too?” Weiss asked.

“No, _we’re_ going to kill it _together_ ,” Aeilana replied. “Ideally, it’s going to be just you and your classmates working together, but if things start to go tits-up, I’ll jump in; at that point, the plan is you all get out of here, and try to stay out of the crossfire along the way.”

Weiss smirked. “Not much for complexity in strategy, are you?”

Aeilana smirked back. “Only when it’s overthinking things. Now you go talk tactics with Bee,” she said, patting her on the shoulder before coaxing her off.

Weiss nodded, and headed over to her. “So what’s the plan?” she asked.

“Before you go to the altar, we’re forming two lines: myself and the twins will be on the front, and you and the rest will be in the back, about 100 meters between us,” Bee started. “That way, we’ve got an escort or a distraction for when you run back, and cover fire, should we need it.”

“Wait, what do you mean when I run back?”

“None of us can accompany you to the altar, or be in close proximity when you activate it, Weiss.” Penny explained. “In a safety sense, the altar will begin to draw magic from _any_ available sources within its immediate radius, and that includes myself and other weavers.

“In a symbolic sense, Primal Aeilana and your fellow weavers are here to help you, but only if you have the courage to willingly face your fears by yourself.”

Weiss sighed.  “ Piper, I am really starting to  dislike this  whole  initiation rite ...”

B ee smiled. “As someone who’s already gone through it, I assure you the idea of it is always worse than the reality. Anyway, back to the plan:  myself and Fireki will be doing most of the actual fighting and/or distracting, Feroki will be the one to help you retreat.”

“You _seriously_ expect me to put my life in the hands of the guy who absolutely hates my guts...?”

“He was a watcher long before he was a weaver, Weiss, Feroki knows how to put business ahead of personal grudges.” Bee replied. “That aside, he  specializes disabling spells,  traps,  and magic meant to move you or others around— _pretty_ useful if you’re trying to get away from something, or somethings . 

“Worst comes to worst, just call out his name, and he’ll use his  bladewhip  to  bring  you to safety, like so.”

Bee turned to the others,  and called out Nami and Feroki . Weiss watched as Feroki swung his  sword, the blade breaking apart into a whip held together by  a water tendril,  which he wrapped  around Nami’s waist. 

W ith a powerful spin and a flick of his wrist, he  sent her flying off!

_< WHEEEEEE…!> _Nami went as she rocketed through the air, before making a safe landing in the deep end all the way on the other side of the cavern.

“As you can see, he has a _very_ good throwing arm.” Bee said as Nami started to swim back to them. “Once you’re with the rest of the group, either take manual control of one of Cheska’s turrets like Nami will, or just provide additional power—that rig of hers can _always_ use the extra juice.

“Any objections or suggestions?”

“Well, seeing as I probably can’t ask to do this another da y,  or skip it all together... none.” Weiss said,  before s he put her mask on,  and  her hood back up.  _**“Let’s do this.”** _

Weiss started to head off to the altar, until Aeilana jogged up and stopped her. “I almost forgot: gauntlet off, Weiss.”

W eiss’ eyes widened.  _**“W-Wait, you want me to take off my gauntlet?!”** _

“Yes.” Aeilana said. “For now, that thing’s like water wings, and I want you to start learning how to swim without it.”

Weiss nervously clutched her gloved hand in her other, the runes whining and glowing.

Aeilana’s eyes softened. “I know, Weiss, it’s scary—but we’re right here to rescue you if you start drowning.”

“ _ **Can you please stop**_ _ **with the figures of speech, and give me some time alone with Penny?”**_ Weiss asked.

“Of course.” Aeilana said, patting her on the shoulder before she walked away.

“ _**Do you s** _ _**till have enough power to bring someone,** _ _**or someones** _ _**back to life,** _ _**if it comes to that?”** _ Weiss asked as  Penny  came up.

Penny chuckled. “Well, we all are standing in an uninterrupted source of magic, and it’s not like I’m unauthorized to draw from it...” she said, looking down at the water below them.

“ _ **Right...”**_ Weiss said, before she let go of her gloved hand, looked at her palm, and sighed. _**“**_ _ **What’s going to happen when I take this off? I haven’t done it since I put it on in Abner’s lab.”**_

“Well, considering that Maker Abner put in a majority of containment, suppression, and regulation runes and subsystems in the latest upgrade, it will be like the metaphorical floodgates being opened, and your excess stores of magic will begin to leak almost immediately.” Penny said. “While the sensation won’t be painful by itself, its physical manifestation almost certainly will cause severe chills, shivering, and/or frostnip, though your body and your surroundings won’t freeze thanks to your coat and the enchantments in them.

“In short: this is _definitely_ going to suck.”

Weiss sighed. _**“**_ _ **I had a feeling you were going to say that...”**_

Penny nodded, and gently took Weiss’ gauntlet into both her hands. “On three?”

Weiss sighed again, and nodded back. _ **“On three. One...”**_

Penny undid the straps on her wrist.

“ _ **Two...”**_

Penny started to gently, carefully pull it off Weiss’ hand; the runes glowed and flashed for a moment, before they went dark, tendrils of frost started to pour out the hole.

“ _ **Three!”**_

Penny pulled it off completely, Weiss started _screaming._

Everyone jumped or flinched as freezing mist started gushing out of Weiss’ now bare hands, frost forming over her skin, her pale complexion turning bright red. Penny quickly pocketed her gauntlet and grabbed her hands, green magic surging along her arms and into Weiss, steam rising and water falling from her hands.

Cheska quickly stepped up and turned her back to Weiss, sections of her armour sliding away to reveal two handles, charging symbols on both of them; Weiss wasted no time grabbing them instead and pumping her magic into Cheska’s core, so much the lights of her rig started to glow in Weiss’ ice blue.

Weiss gasped as she let go, the mist ceasing, her skin returning to its normal colour.

Cheska’s armour closed up, she turned around, and hesitantly raised a thumbs up with a curious look on her face.

Weiss smiled, and gave her a thumbs up back. “Thanks.”

<So are we _actually_ going to do this now, or what?> Feroki asked.

Fireki elbowed him in the side, Weiss ignored him as she started walking to the altar.

It was old, _very_ old, like the architecture just outside the Sanctuary, but with none of the aura or the power radiating from it. Whatever its original shape and facade was long gone, every surface of the rock worn smooth and irregular, with only its pedestal having gone through any sort of reconstruction and restoration work. Even then, the two roughly hand-sized depressions on the face of it were full of scratches, gouges, and dents, presumably from what happened when a weaver put their hands in them.

Something that Weiss was going to personally find out soon enough.

“Just put your hands on it, and the machine will do the rest!” Aeilana yelled. “It might be freaky at first, but trust me, you’ll be fine!”

And with a heavy sigh, Weiss did.

Magic surged into her body. Flashes of darkness, of pain, of memories she’d really rather had forgotten. There were screams—her voice, in anger, in exasperation, in despair, other people’s voices, emotions just as intense. Then, an unholy roar, echoing throughout the cavern.

The lights began to flicker as the water around her started to glow and pulse in the colour of her magic, before it all surged into the altar. The whole structure pulsed ice blue for a few seconds, before suddenly, it faded.

Weiss wrenched her hands from the pedestal, her whole body shaking violently.

Two giant arms of ice shot out of the water, their hands slamming on the floor and pulling the rest of their body up. Weiss staggered back, watched as a humanoid head with a pair of brilliant ice blue eyes stared down at her, sharp, bristling icicles forming on its face like a moustache.

Faster than anything that size should be able to move, it brought its hand down on Weiss.

_Boom!_

A barrage of explosions and lasers hit it, making it reel as obnoxiously bright substances started to spread all over its body, seep inside it. The back-line prepared another volley as the front-line charged, surging forward on a wave with Bee at its peak. Weiss turned around and bolted off the altar.

The titan roared, and slammed its hands into the ground, sending shockwaves through the water. They slammed into the back of Weiss’ legs, threw her face-first into floor. She scrambled back up, but wasn’t _nearly_ fast enough to get away from the giant hand trying to snatch her up.

<Fireki! Feroki!> Bee cried.

<On it!> the twins shouted back, before they jumped off the wave.

Feroki grabbed Fireki with his blade-whip, spun her around, and sent her rocketing off to Weiss! Fireki tackled her into the ground and flat on her back, the titan missed her and caught Fireki instead. It brought her up to its face, and roared in frustration.

Fireki just scowled, her claws glowing bright as she stabbed them into the titan’s hand, began to pry herself free.

<Fireki!> Feroki yelled as he saw the titan bringing its other hand in.

<Don’t mind her, get Weiss!> Bee said as she launched herself up to the titan’s wrist, jammed her staff in and helped Fireki push, magic flowing out of their weapons and into the titan.

Feroki growled, before he reluctantly dashed off to Weiss, just sitting up, dazed and confused.

In the back-line, Nami launched another potion at the titan, before looking back at Aeilana. <Primal, are you sure we can still handle this…?>

<Sure you can!> Aeilana cried, smiling. <Fight’s just starting, don’t give up hope just yet!>

Then, the titan’s grip suddenly got _much_ stronger.

Fireki and Bee cried out as its fingers started to push down on them again. Bee created several pillars of thick ice around them, stalling it, but cracks started to appear almost immediately. Feroki abandoned Weiss, grabbed one of the titan’s wrists with his bladewhip, tried and failed to pull it away.

The back-line intensified their assault, charging shots to full power, pulling out the most noxious and powerful of their ammunition, but the titan didn’t even flinch.

“ _WEISS!”_ Bee yelled. _“DO SOMETHING!”_

Weiss scrambled to her feet pulled out Myrnaster, clasped it tightly in her trembling hands; magic surged into the blade, the whole sword glowing and shimmering bright, icy blue, before a giant water laser shot out of it, so powerful it knocked Weiss back onto her rear.

She could only watch in horror as the beam shot straight up, the titan’s hands and Fireki right in its path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback really means a lot to me. It's incredibly heartening and encouraging to see comments in my e-mail, no matter how small or short the message. These stories of mine take a lot of effort, time, and motivation to get done, and I would really appreciate all the help I can get to keep on making them.


	8. Chapter 8

There was no sizzle, no smoke, steam, no glowing hot marks on either side of the line the aqua laser cut through the titan’s hand and across Fireki’s whole body, but the results were clear and horrifying all the same.

The titan howled as a good chunk of that hand fell clean off, fingers still curled and trying to crush a victim that wasn’t there anymore.

Fireki made no noise as she fell out of the titan’s grip, her mask and pieces of her armour coming apart in mid-air.

_Splash!_

The titan’s severed hand hit the water, waves exploding out from it; Fireki fell face-down shortly after, leaving a trail of blood in the water as she was carried away.

<MENDER!> Bee screamed as she jumped off the titan’s arm, and chased after Fireki.

The titan roared and tried to crush them both, Bee swept herself and Fireki away on a wave, narrowly avoiding its hand and the shockwave that exploded out of it.

Weiss and Fireki weren’t as lucky, both of them getting hit and swept away. Myrtenaster flew out of Weiss’ hands, its beam still firing and cutting gouges in the ceiling before it finally stopped, and fell into the water.

Aeilana scowled as she slapped a section on her comm-crystal, alarms started wailing all across the Sanctuary as she rushed over to the back-line. <EVERYONE OUT, **NOW! > **she cried, pulling a stunned and frightened Nami off Cheska’s back, helping Penny clamber up to the business ends of the barrels.

<Cheska!> Aeilana barked.

<Nn!> Cheska  went  as she opened up the charging ports to her power core,  and  switched firing modes. Aeilana grabbed both handles, Penny spread her swords out around her like wings, the cannons glowed and hissed from the rapidly growing pressure inside them.

_Thoom!_

Penny went soaring through the  air, energy arcing between her swords as she dove straight towards Be e,  now kneeling over Fireki and trying to stem  the bleeding .  The titan saw, and tried to give chase, Aeilana and Cheska hit it with a barrage of projectiles,  forcing it back .

Weiss gasped as she pulled her head out of the water, her whole body  shaking violently as she pushed herself up on all fours. Her eyes widened as she noticed Feroki running towards her at full tilt,  his weapon in hand, the anger on his face clear as day even with his mask on.

He swung his bladewhip,  Weiss held her hands up as the tendril came right for her.  _ “Wait, _ Feroki— _ I’m sor--!” _

The whip wrapped around her waist, Feroki flicked his wrist, and Weiss went flying. She screamed as she rocketed through the air, uselessly flailing her limbs as the solid wall of the Evoking Chamber came closer and closer!

<NAMI!> Aeilana yelled.

Nami yelped and pulled out a potion from her bag, and hurled it as hard as she could at the wall. The container exploded, teal foam fizzing and rapidly expanding outwards. Weiss hit it, sank into the gelatinous mass for a moment, before it shifted and gently tossed her into the water nearby.

Nami ran to her, and helped her back on her feet. <Are you okay?> she asked.

“ _ **NO I AM NOT OKAY!”**_ Weiss screeched, frost pouring out of her mouth and hands as she flailed her arms and shook her head, her whole body trembling. _**“ABSOLUTELY**_ **NONE OF THIS** _ **IS ‘OKAY!’”**_

Nami took two steps back, turned to Aeilana, and yelled, <I don’t think she’s okay!>

<Never mind that, just get her over here!> Aeilana cried as she and Cheska continued to fire shots at the titan.

Nami nodded. <Come on!> she cried as she grabbed Weiss hand; she yelped and let go, then beckoned her to follow her instead.

“ _ **Are you serious?!”**_ Weiss cried, still shaking.

“YES!” Aeilana cried. “Who else is gonna keep that thing occupied while you all evacuate?!”

Weiss looked at the titan, slowly but surely crawling out of the deep end despite the constant fire. She looked at Fireki, Penny operating on her, Bee sustaining the slowly moving wave that was their stretcher, Feroki busy laying down traps and deterrents behind them. Then, she looked down at Nami, her pleading eyes beneath the clear lens of her mask.

Weiss groaned, before she hurried over to Cheska and Aeilana.

“Ready?!” Aeilana asked as she fired another barrage.

“ _ **Ready!”**_ Weiss cried.

Aeilana summoned a wave and surged towards the titan, Weiss grabbed onto the handles on Cheska’s back, started pumping in as much of her magic as she could.

_Thoosh!_

High-pressure streams of water shot out of Cheska’s cannons, spiraling in mid-air and joining into one beam before they hit the titan. It howled and tried to raise to block it with its arms, the laser bored a hole straight through them, and into its chest. The front-line made it back to them and continued on out the exit, Nami cheered and threw her arms up into the air.

Aeilana slowed down to a stop, smiling as she watched the titan writhe and howl from the assault. “Keep it up, Weiss!” she yelled. “Looks like you guys could do it after all!”

Then, the beam blasted straight through the titan’s chest, too, and started boring into the wall behind it; the whole cavern started to shake as the lights flickered on and off.

Aeilana’s eyes widened. “Oh _shit_ —STOP FIRING, STOP FIRING, _STOP FIRING!”_

Weiss wrenched her glowing hands off of the handles, Cheska shut off her cannons and started venting icy mist around her, but the damage was already done: raw magic gushed out from the wall, more started to spill out from the gouges Myrtenaster had cut earlier.

E veryone watched in horror as the water started to glow an  intense  blue, pulses and currents of magic surging and spiking upwards wildly. Aeilana  turned around and hurried back to the others as it started to spread towards her, t he titan slumped forward,  falling right  into the radioactive spill.

And then, it started to glow, too. 

Its fingers twitched, the missing section of its hand reformed, ice blue tendrils of magic started to flow and pulse all over its body. The titan pushed itself back up, roared with a sound like menacing laughter as icicles and new sheets of frost started to form all over its body, all of them pulsing bright with _power._

More alarms started to blare as the Evoking Chamber began to crumble and collapse. Emergency lights and signs activated, glowing, pulsing, and beeping runes pointing the fastest ways out. Aeilana ushered everyone out, before she blocked the entrance with her still inside, the Sanctuary’s automated systems saying the words for her:

<Evacuate. Evacuate. Evacuate.>

Nami and Cheska rushed into newly opened chambers set into the wall, Weiss followed suit. The door shut behind her, ancient magitech hummed to life, forming a bubble around her before it sent her flying upwards, and away from the Sanctuary.

She looked down, watched as the runes on stone pillars started to glow, ancient devices began to float up from the murk, a shield started to form over the Sanctuary. She quickly lost sight of it as her bubble hit first boost ring, sending her on the fastest path up to the surface.

She finally surfaced on a shallow, secluded bank along with Cheska and Nami, their bubbles popping after hitting land, or being burst by the emergency teams already waiting there. To Weiss’ relief, she saw an air-ambulance already taking off. To _much_ less comfort, she saw Feroki stalking up to her, his mask off and his mouth curled into a deep scowl.

She raised her hands up again, he tossed Myrtenaster before her feet, mud splattering on her ankles. <You dropped this,> he growled, before he spun on his heel, walked away, and disappeared from sight.

Weiss took off her mask, and looked down at her sword, the revolver chambers still full of unused mediums, the only glimmer and glow from the afternoon sun peering down from the canopy.

She looked up as Penny picked it up, magnetized it to her hip, before she held up Weiss’ gauntlet. “My sincerest apologies for severely miscalculating the soonest opportunity I could return this to you, Weiss,” she said with an apologetic look.

Weiss sighed and smiled. “It’s fine… it’s not like tons of other things haven’t been going to plan today, anyway.”

Weiss slipped her glove back on, grunted and gritted her teeth as they tightened the straps, the runes and the metal resumed their work. Her hand tingled and went numb for a few moments, before the feeling started to flow back into it.

“How are you feeling, Weiss?” Penny asked.

“Independent of everything else that just happened in the last five minutes…? Much better.” Weiss said as she shook and flexed the fingers of her gloved hand, before she grabbed Myrtenaster and returned it to her holster. “So, what’s going to happen now?”

“You would have to direct that inquiry towards Bee, Weiss, seeing as she is currently the most senior authority at the moment,” Penny replied, gesturing to where she was.

Weiss looked, and found her sitting on a large tree root, stroking Nami’s head as she was curled up in her lap. Cheska was nearby, out of her rig and running diagnostics on it; just the look on her face, and the fact that it was still covered in a thick layer of ice told her that the outlook wasn’t going to be good.

She turned back to Penny, and asked, “Uh, any advice on how I’m going to talk to the folks who I almost, or probably accidentally killed, with an out-of-control elemental _and_ a laser?”

“An apology, and showing genuine remorse is always helpful and appreciated,” Penny replied. “That aside, I would advise you not to put much weight to it: dramatic, catastrophic accidents are a relatively frequent occurrence here at the Weaver’s Terrace, and though the culprits tend to be young and/or inexperienced weavers like yourself, the veterans are not immune to their projects and demonstrations going incredibly awry.

Weiss nodded. “I’m simultaneously comforted and concerned.”

“Would you like me to come with you, Weiss?” Penny asked.

“No, I think I need to do this on my own,” Weiss said. “You just go… uh, charge up and review your chronicle of today, I guess?”

Penny nodded. “Please do not hesitate to change your mind and summon me if you require assistance,” she said, before she went to a nearby charging station, and plugged herself in via her tail.

Weiss looked back to the others, took a deep breath, and slowly stepped up to them. “I am really, _truly_ , very sorry for causing all that chaos back there, and especially injuring Fireki. If there’s anything I can do to make amends, don’t hesitate to ask, and I promise to do _whatever_ it takes to gain control of my powers, and prevent anything like this ever happening again.”

Bee looked up at her and smiled. “Apology accepted, Weiss, but don’t feel _too_ guilty about it: we were all well aware of just how badly things could go wrong before we came in today, and Fireki’s an _extremely_ tough cookie. Moving on, there’s actually a great deal of side-projects and assignments we have that can _really_ do with a power source on the cheap, or an extra weaver assisting.”

Cheska sent something to Bee’s comm-crystal; she read it, then said to Weiss, “Speaking of which, if you’re free tomorrow around this time, or when Cheska’s rig finally defrosts completely, she could _really_ use you as an auxiliary generator for repairs.”

Weiss smiled at Cheska and gave her a thumbs up. “Just a name a time and a place, I’ll be here.”

Cheska gave a thumbs up back, before she returned to examining her rig.

Weiss turned to Nami, still curled up in Bee’s lap. “Is she going to be okay?”

“She’ll be fine, just pretty shaken,” Bee replied. “Mark my words, by the time the Flood comes, she’ll be smiling and laughing as she tells every one who’ll listen about today. For the moment, though, we won’t mind if you join us at the Tender’s Fields, and chip in for milkshakes.”

“To help Nami cope?” Weiss asked.

“And to celebrate your getting into our little class of misfits.” Bee added, smiling. “Welcome to the group, Weiss, we’re all… well, almost all of us glad to have you here.”

Another set of alarms started blaring, an ear-piercing sound like an air raid siren, coming from posts all over the water quadrant. Folks started running for cover, securing experiments and facilities, or taking up defensive positions. Fae, vehicles, and amphibious animals started to surface from the water and flee en masse, the surface rippling and churning like mad.

_Woosh!_

Weiss watched as the titan exploded out from the water, even bigger and more menacing than before, Aeilana’s hooks latched around its neck, and the Fae herself arcing up into the air by the twin tendrils extending from the handles to her hands.

Weiss scowled. “ARE YOU _FUCKING_ KIDDING ME?!”


	9. Chapter 9

Aeilana’s tethers reached their limits, she threw her weight around and started to swing back down to the titan. It roared as it reached up and swung its arms about, trying to snatch her out of the air, or snap the tendrils of enchanted water.

She jumped off its arms and hands before it could wrap its fingers around her, reconnected the broken tendrils before they enchantment wore off and they began to fall. She came to a stop on its chest, the surface underneath started to glow and pulse, before waves of magic came roaring at Aeilana.

She jumped over them, then started pulling herself up by the tendrils. The titan jerked and twisted around to try throw her off, Aeilana barely avoiding getting dashed against its frozen body, crushed beneath its hands as it slammed them all over its chest, or impaled on the icicles erupting all over.

All over the Terrace, the watchers and the battle weavers watched anxiously, cannons, ballistae, laser arrays, and other defenses ready to fire, waiting to see if they’d even need to pull the triggers.

Aeilana launched herself up from the titan’s sternum, screaming as she aimed a dropkick right at its neck!

_Crack._

Most everyone covered their ears and reeled as the titan howled in agony, violently thrashing as its whole body pulsed and flashed, mana gushed from the breach like a burst dam. It wrenched Aeilana off it, and hurled her away as hard as it could, her hooks ripping deep gouges in its neck as they came with her.

Aeilana flew off into the distance, searing hot lasers, spears, boulders, explosive bubbles, and all manner of other ammunition and spells began to strike the titan in a non-stop barrage. Cheska dropped her diagnostic tools and put her mask back on, watching Aeilana spiral through the air before she started making panicked noises, beckoning the others to follow her as she ran off.

<She knows where Primal Aeilana will land, let’s move!> Bee cried.

No one hesitated.

With Cheska guiding them, they made a goo cushion in the ground, then a net made of weaver’s staffs and water tendrils. Aeilana saw, tried to steer and slow herself down with blasts of water, before she could only brace for impact.

<Prepare for landing!> Penny cried as everyone either grabbed onto the staffs and helped anchored them into the mud, or strengthened the net with their magic. <3… 2… 1!>

_Poomf._

Aeilana hit the gelatinous mass like a bullet. It imploded around her, before it rebounded and launched her right into the net. Everyone cried out as both muscles and magic were tested and strained, but Aeilana jumped off and staggered to her feet before anything or anyone could give.

<Primal Aeilana, are you okay?!> Bee asked as she and several others came up to her.

Aeilana threw up.

Most everyone reeled, or politely looked away.

Aeilana heaved and coughed up the last of the contents of her stomach, rinsed off her mouth, then stood up straight. <I’m fine! You all just keep that thing at bay until I find my gear and get back on it!> she said, before she started to look around for her missing weapons.

<Primal, you can’t be serious!>

<Didn’t that thing just beat you earlier?!>

<It did NOT beat me!> Aeilana snapped. <It got away before I could murder the crap out of it, there’s a difference!>

The protests and arguments continued, until Aeilana noticed Weiss walking off with Myrtenaster in hand. “Woah, Weiss, where are you going?” she asked as she jogged up to her and put her hand on her shoulder.

Weiss turned to her, and calmly said, “What else? I’m going to **kill** that thing.”

Aeilana frowned. “Yeah, you’re not doing that, Weiss...”

Weiss scowled, a puff of frost pouring out her lips and nose.

“… Not without some serious back-up.” Aeilana finished, flashing her a smile before her expression turned serious. “Hang tight for a minute, we’re calling in help.”

“Who?” Weiss asked. “Elder Goodwitch?”

Aeilana laughed. “No. _B_ _etter.”_

Everyone was already heading off before Weiss could ask again. She watched as Bee and the rest of her classmates were escorted to the nearest evacuation transport, and the rest formed a circle around the charging nearest station. Aeilana pressed her hand to its control panel, it started to transform, turning into a massive, bowl-like apparatus.

The weavers and Penny started to hold out their hands or their focuses, their magic poured into the bowl, mana swirling around faster and faster, until it started to look like a particularly colourful wellspring. A blurry image started to form it its center, muddied and the distorted. Weiss stepped closer to the bowl, trying to make it out, figure out why it felt so strangely familiar…

… And then Ruby shot out of it, and landed right on top of Weiss.

She looked around confused, the Keeper’s scythe in a holster on her back, until she looked down, and gasped. _“Weiss!_ You’re okay!”

“ _GET OFF OF ME!”_

Ruby did, picked her up off the ground, then hugged her. “I was _so_ worried when I saw the emergency was here! What’s going on, anyway?” she asked as she pulled away.

Everyone pointed behind Ruby.

She turned around, and saw the titan, still being assaulted by a constant barrage of magic and projectiles, breaking off and throwing huge icicles from its body and throwing them in retaliation, when it wasn’t busy defending itself or repairing the damage.

“Huh,” Ruby said as she turned back to Weiss, “is it just me, or does that kind of look like your dad?”

Before Weiss could reply, two more individuals shot out of the wellspring before it collapsed, and landed on top of Weiss, too.

<For the record, we both tried to stop her!> Blake said as Yang clung to her legs.

<And _also_ for the record, fuck you watchers and your protocols!> Yang cried. <No _way_ I am letting my little sister face whatever the fuck the Valley’s served up without me, now that I can help it!>

Weiss formed a bubble around her that lifted them up slightly, before it exploded and tossed them to the sides. _“_ Whatever it is you two are arguing about, can it PLEASE wait till AFTER we murder the crap out of that thing?!” she said as she picked herself up, then stepped well away from the bowl.

Blake and Yang rolled onto their backs or looked over their shoulders, their eyes widening as they saw the titan. _“Fuck_ me, that is one _big_ elemental!” Yang cried.

<How are we supposed to kill it?!> Blake cried, her ears pulling back.

“Hit it in its weakspot,” Aeilana said, tapping her neck. “Whoever made the Evoking Chamber was smart enough to include a kill-switch, in case things went _very_ wrong, like right now.”

“And I suppose I’m the one who needs to activate it?” Weiss asked.

“Nah, anyone can hit it there and do some serious damage.” Aeilana replied, before she smiled. “You, however, can make it REALLY hurt.”

Weiss smiled. “Say no more.”

<Huddle up, everyone!> Ruby called, and a plan was quickly formed.

Soon, they were all standing on top of one of the water quadrant’s watchtowers, Yang loading Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Penny into the barrel of a hydro cannon. “I swear, next time shit goes down, I’m coming with you, authorized or no!” she said as she was about to close the breach.

“ **Just make sure you’ve got a full set of quality gear before then, Yang!”** Ruby replied.

Yang turned the valve  and sealed the cannon , Aeilana put  her  hands on the  pump.  T he pipes  rattled , water  bubbled , and vapour  hissed  as  the pressure started to build. The senior watcher in the  room  pulled up his comm-crystal. 

<All units:  last volley in 3, 2, 1!>

The Fae let loose one final barrage, almost every weapon firing in unison. The titan braced itself, before it started to move further inland, massive waves and ripples exploding out out from each step, trees, docks, and buildings crushed to splinters as it walked through them.

<Keeper team launching in 3, 2, 1!>

_Thoom._

The Keeper team shot through the air and towards the titan, Penny spreading her swords out like wings, Blake climbing onto her back, with Ruby and Weiss clinging on by her arms and legs. Yang and Aeilana waved the mist from their face before they cheered and howled for them, the rest of the Terrace soon joined in, if they weren’t silently watching and praying for their success instead.

The titan saw them, ripped icicles off its body, and sent a giant wall of spikes straight at them!

“ **W** **eiss** **!”** Ruby cried.

“ _ **On it!”**_ Weiss cried, switching Myrtenaster to fire, before pointing it downwards.

_Woosh!_

A giant fireball exploded out from her sword, melting and vaporizing most of the icicles, launching the team higher and away from of the rest. The titan reeled from the blast, before it tried to swat them out of the air.

**< Blake!>**

_< Got it!>_

Blake jumped off, Penny dodged the titan’s hand and flew behind it. Too focused on them, the titan didn’t notice Blake latching onto its arm by her breakneck’s cable, before reeling herself up and climbing up to its neck.

**< Penny!>**

<Executing orders!>

Penny lodged her blades into the titan’s back, they all jumped on it and started to climb, grabbing the handles and using the blunt sides as footholds, stopping only to rip them out and lodge them in higher. A wave of magic shot down the titan’s back and towards them, Ruby jumped up and slammed the head of her scythe into the titan’s back.

The titan flinched, Ruby grunted as the brunt of the wave crashed into her, the rest exploding around her. Up near the top of the titan’s arm, the ridge Blake was holding onto broke off, she stabbed her breakneck into to it to keep from falling.

Her eyes widened as she saw the titan turn its head, and look straight at her.

 _< Shit_—it’s found me!> Blake cried.

 **< Attack, **_**attack! >**_ Ruby cried as she, Penny, and Weiss continued to climb.

Blake ran up the titan’s arm and to its shoulder, before a giant ice spike exploded where she just was. She ran up to its neck, a giant wall of ice erupted right in front of her, blocking her path. She launched her breakneck’s cable onto the side of its head, ran along the gouges left by Aeilana’s hooks earlier, and onto its other shoulder.

The ice beneath Blake’s feet glowed painfully bright, she leaped off into the air; another ice spike erupted behind her, so close she could feel it graze the pads on the bottom of her feet. The titan reached up and tried to snatch her out of the air, Blake activated the reel on her breakneck, sending her flying back into the titan, and her blade into its neck!

_Crack._

The titan howled and thrashed as raw mana gushed out anew. Blake was blasted off from the pressure, flailing in the air by her cable, before the hook ripped off and she went flying. Ruby, Weiss, and Penny struggled to hold on as they were thrown every which way, before the titan slumped forward and put a hand over the breach, freezing it onto the crack and sealing it.

“ **Let’s move** **!”** Ruby cried as they began to scale the last dozen meters before they reached the titan’s shoulders.

It reached behind with its free arm, bending it to unnatural angles as it slammed its hand all over its back, icicles and shockwaves exploding out of them on impact, the layers of frost and spikes on its surface breaking off and raining down on the three of them.

They struggled to hold on as their footholds started to disappear, dodged the dangers or brace themselves for the impact, kept trying to climb up still. They were just a few meters away from its shoulders, when the hand slammed down on Penny, and pulled her off.

“ _ **PENNY!”**_ Weiss and Ruby screamed as they watched the titan’s fingers clamp down on her.

“ _Don’t mind me_ _!”_ Penny cried as she struggled to wrench herself free. _“_ _Prioritize the--!”_

Icy spikes exploded all over the titan’s hand, and Penny’s connection cut off.

Weiss stared in slack-jawed horror, Ruby grabbed her and ran up the titan’s back, onto its shoulders. It tried to crush them with its fist. Weiss screamed, she and Ruby disappeared in a flash of rose petals, before reappearing atop the titan’s other hand, and right by its neck.

Dazed and disoriented, Weiss flailed her arms as tilted towards the edge; Ruby pulled her back, she wrapped her arms around her and clung for dear life. Ruby wrenched her off of her, Weiss was about to complain, before she saw the titan’s spiked fist coming for them.

_Crack._

Weiss carefully opened her eyes, saw Ruby holding the titan’s fist back, the head of her scythe lodged into its wrist. **“Weiss…!”** Ruby said through gritted teeth. **“Kill** **it** **… quick!”**

Weiss looked behind her, saw the still glowing crack on the titan’s neck through the layers of ice it had built over it. She grabbed Myrtenaster, the blade erupting into flames as she started to stab and chip away at the ice, thick chunks breaking off or vaporizing with each strike. The titan roared, and pushed down harder, slowly forcing Ruby back, bringing the spikes closer to them _ **.**_

Weiss screamed. “ _ **Why won’t you just**_ **DIE?!”** she cried as she drove Myrtenaster in one last time, the flaming blade piercing straight through the layers of ice, deep into the titan’s neck, all of the fire medium in the chamber pouring in all at once.

_Boom._

The titan’s head exploded, ice shards and liquid mana raining down on the area as the rest of its body shuddered and collapsed from its own weight. Weiss and Ruby flew off from the blast in two different directions, helpless to do anything but spiral through the air.

Weiss’ back hit the water, the sound like a cannon going off, the pain like getting shot point-blank by several of them all at once; she was vaguely aware of the lights beaming down from the surface of the water, the muted sounds of alarms and shouting from above, Myrtenaster slipping out of her hands.

Then, she only felt cold...


	10. Chapter 10

… And when Weiss woke up again, she was warm, tucked into soft and silky blankets, and laying on something exceptionally comfortable, like one of the top of the line mattresses she’d had back in Manor Schnee, only better.

She also felt like complete, absolute _shit._

“Ugh...” Weiss groaned, trying to shift around, found herself unable to move her limbs, her muscles too weak, the ebb and flow of the magic inside her so faint she could barely feel it.

“I would advise you not to exert yourself in any way, shape, or form for quite a while, Weiss,” Penny said, from somewhere beside her.

Weiss tried to turn to her, found she couldn’t—there was something sturdy wrapped around her neck, keeping her from turning more than a few degrees to either side. “Penny…?” she asked, her voice hoarse, “where are you…?”

“Right beside you, Weiss.” Penny replied. “Here, this should help.”

There was a series of whirring, stretching, and crawling sounds beside her; a fast-growing vine soon hovered above Weiss, sections of it wrapped around wooden rods for structural integrity. At its end was a projector, whose holo showed her an almost golden ball of various minerals, the grooves and runes on it faintly pulsing a familiar green.

“Penny…?” Weiss whispered.

A still image of Penny’s smiling face appeared in a corner of the holo. “Hello Weiss!”

Weiss’ face fell. “Oh, sweet Shepherd, I am SO sorry…!”

“Do not feel guilty, Weiss, and know I do not hold anything against you, either,” Penny replied, her image still smiling. “As the Keeper’s personal mender, and one of her watcher supports, the destruction of my body in the line of duty is a very likely hazard, and one that carries little consequence.

“Rest assured: a new, better body is being designed and manufactured as we speak.”

“What about the others?” Weiss asked. “How are they...?”

“First, please calm down, Weiss, excessive excitement and stress will not be good on your already fragile state.” Penny replied. “Second, they are all healthy and back at the Grove, in stable conditions, or well on their way to full recoveries. Is their anyone whose state you would like to know about specifically?”

“How’s Fireki?”

“Stable, if still unconscious," Penny said. “The staff are concerned about how deep the damage was, but Fireki has quite the record of surviving worse injuries in less ideal circumstances as this.”

“What about Feroki? What happened to him?”

“I don’t have much information on him, unfortunately,” Penny replied, her avatar now looking apologetic. “He was here visiting Fireki earlier, but aside from that, I’ve received no news from him; I had inquired with Bee, but she has no leads, and Primal Aeilana is too occupied with the clean-up for such a minor inquiry.”

“So what about Bee and the others, then? Are they okay?”

“They all are,” Penny replied, her avatar smiling again. “Though we will require regular, long-term check-ins to be sure of Nami’s psychological health, Cheska’s rig is the only real casualty among them. Speaking of which, she would still appreciate some form of assistance with its repairs.”

“Remind me when I get discharged...” Weiss said. “What about Blake? And Ruby? How are they?”

“Blake is back at the Grove, resting,” Penny said. “She was suffering from severe chills and a very bad landing beside, but as you destroyed the titan soon after, we could immediately evacuate her and treat her here.

“As for Ruby…” she hesitated for a moment “… she’s uninjured physically, as you would expect by now, but emotionally, she’s in a fragile state. Rest assured that both Yang and Taiyang have and are continuing to give her the support and comfort that she needs.”

Weiss paused. “… Did I _die_ back there…?”

“You did,” Penny said, back to the sheepish image. “Ruby was the one that extracted you from the water and attempted first aid, before the rest of the menders caught up with her."

“… Oh.” Weiss said. “How bad was it?”

“You can access the other chroniclers’ records of it if you really wish to see, but it was _extremely_ bad, and I do not think there’s much to be gained from learning the exact details."

"I suppose I’ll take your word for it...” Weiss muttered. “Wait, have you told her I’m okay?”

“I sent a message with chronicle evidence to her, alongside the medical staff!” Penny said, her avatar now looking especially pleased with herself. “It was not the most _flattering_ images of you I’ve recorded so far, but I think we can both agree she will not mind, especially with how long you’ve been unconscious. 8 hours, 12 minutes, and 43 seconds, beginning from the time the menders in the operating room declared you stable, by the way.”

Weiss’ eyes widened.

“The injuries you sustained were VERY serious, and recovering from excessive exposure to water magic is an inherently slow process,” Penny said. “Among other treatments, you needed to be slowly defrosted over the course of several hours for safety reasons.”

“So where am I now?” Weiss asked, looking past the holo and at the shimmering shield above around her, just like the one post-Eve of the Ether. “Back at the high-security ward?”

“Oh no, you’re actually at the weaver’s ward, alongside Winter—she’s recovering well from her injuries in the battle with Qrow, as is he, and also Jaune with his accident.”

“Can I speak to her?” Weiss asked. “Can you call her up on your comms?”

“One: she is currently asleep, and I believe I would need to request another mender to wake her, which might take some time,” Penny replied. “The Weaver’s ward requires very specialized training and qualifications that not many menders have, or are willing to work to, so their numbers are relatively small.

“Two: I am unable to use my regular comms—the barrier that is around us is blocking any incoming or outgoing magic, including the signals used by most comm-crystals.”

Weiss frowned.

“And three: we actually set-up a device that would bypass that and allow you to communicate still, if we can wake her.” Penny continued. “It’s audio only, however. Would you like me to continue still?”

“Yes please!” Weiss replied. “I’m sorry, I just… I _really_ need to talk to her right now.”

“Attempting to establish a line of communication now!” Penny chirped, before her holo went dark, she retracted her vine-arm, the glow of her core fading in and out like a loading icon as jazz music began to play softly.

Weiss frowned, waited, and fidgeted, unable to do much but listen to the music, and stare up at the ceiling and watch the currents of magic gently shifting and dancing across its surface.

Then, Penny made a sound like a bell. “Contact successfully established!” she chirped as she grew a second vine-arm, pushed it through the barrier, and came back with the device she’d mentioned.

“ _Is that a fucking can on a string?!”_ Weiss snapped.

“A professionally engineered and designed can on a string!” Penny replied as she brought it over to Weiss’ mouth.

“Are you _sure_ you’re not shitting me right now?” Weiss asked, eyeing it with annoyance.

“ _She most definitely is not,_ _little sister_ _.”_ Winter’s voice came through the can.

Weiss’ eyes widened. “Winter!”

“ _Hello there,_ _Weiss_ _!”_ Winter said warmly. _“How are you feeling?_ _I heard your first day at your new class didn’t go so well..._ _”_

“No, no it did not!” Weiss cried. “I caused who-knows-how-much in property damage and cost in munitions and supplies; injured and almost directly, or indirectly killed several folks; and I died, got revived, and possibly traumatized my girlfriend, too.

“I can’t move or feel much of anything, I’m trapped in another magic bubble and these blankets beside, and I feel like complete and absolute _shit_ in general, but I am _so_ glad to be talking to you again! Sorry for waking you up, by the way.”

“ _Weiss, if anyone should be sorry right now,_ _it’s me,”_ Winter said. _“_ _Challenging Qrow to a duel_ _was a_ poorly _thought out idea, and I’m ashamed that I_ _went through with it_ _, especially because it kept me from joining you at the Terrace today like I was supposed to.”_

Weiss relieved smile faded. “Oh yeah... I’d forgotten all about that…”

“ _I’m not surprised,”_ Winter said. _“_ _Anyway: I was acting stupidly and impulsively, and more from leftover resentment for my and Qrow’s first tango than the nobler reason I had in my mind. I promise to be more cool and level-headed from here on out, and if I do get into any_ _new_ _fights, I swear they will be_ _for much better motivations_ _.”_

“And what was that ‘nobler reason?’” Weiss asked. “I also remember you didn’t explain _why_ you decided Qrow and you _just_ had to go tearing at each other’s throats.”

Winter sighed. _“Well, I had wanted to keep this secret, but given recent events and how my plans are no longer feasible, to say the least, I may as well tell you over this_ _un_ _encrypted channel:_ _I was trying to gauge how strong he was, and how much of a chance I’d have against him, or any of the other senior watchers if ever I had need to face them in combat.”_

“Why for?” Weiss asked. “Are you planning to become one of the sparring watchers at the Roost?”

“ _No, it was if we’d ever need to resort to violence during an escape from the Viridian Valley.”_

Weiss blinked. “Pardon…?”

“ _Again, it was if we’d ever need to resort to violence during an escape from the Viridian Valley.”_ Winter said. _“_ _As you might have guessed, I don’t really trust the Eldan Council and what they say, their care_ _and treatment_ _of you, and the genuineness of your friends and…”_ she struggled for a while _“… your girlfriend’s_ _fondness_ _for you aside. Just the whole… Keeper thing… was enough to make me want to investigate the feasibility of an escape plan, as Taiyang had attempted long ago._

_"But, it seems that trying to go AWOL on the Eldan Council never ends well, as even Fate seems to be conspiring against us.”_

“Winter, I’m here in the Valley because of my own free will.” Weiss said.

“ _I know that, Weiss, but just because you chose to do something by your own volition doesn’t mean it’s automatically the right, or the ideal thing to do—not to mention the fact that the best, most successful manipulation is when you make your target believe they’re acting of their own agency.”_

“Ruby promised me that they’d let me go if we don’t work out!”

“ _And what exactly would that entail on the Council’s end?”_ Winter asked. _“I don’t blame you for not thinking of these things—protecting intelligence assets in covert operations never really comes up in_ _even the most prestigious curricula_ _—but,_ really _think about it: will they_ really _just turn us loose in the human territories again under new identities, probably with an allowance and support network for the first few months, before they stop dealing with us entirely, trust we’ll keep their secret and manage by our own devices?”_

Weiss was silent.

“ _This WAS originally the part that I was going to try to convince you to make an escape plan with me, just in case, but honestly, with both our powers and how out-of-control yours are, there’s only one thing we can do right now: stay here, enjoy the free food, lodgings,_ _and opportunities;_ _try to get a_ _handle_ _on our powers_ _with the help of the Fae;_ _and_ _just_ _make an entirely new life for ourselve_ _s.”_

Weiss tried to nod. “This is a real mess I’ve gotten ourselves into, huh…?”

“ _Yes it is indeed, sister.”_ Winter replied. _“However,_ _Weiss, know that I love you, and that_ _there is no fate I won’t endure, if it mean_ _s_ _that_ _you can be safe and we can be together_ _._ _I mean, I’ve been trying to look at_ _the bright side of all this: we can_ _see each other_ every day _than every couple of months,_ _and we’re both free from Father’s control_ _!_

_"I could do without the threats to the realm and our lives targeting and hounding us both at the same time, but I suppose soon enough, we’ll be learning how to defend ourselves and then some, and we’ve got plenty of allies willing to come to our defense beside. I also doubt the motivations and intentions of many of them are entirely altruistic, but I suppose beggars can’t be choosers...”_

Winter chuckled. _“Sort of like Grandpa, Grandma, and their original expedition team, now that I’m saying it out loud.”_

“I wonder what they would have to say if they saw us here now...” Weiss muttered.

“ _Well, we can’t know for sure, but I’ve certainly got a few guesses...”_ Winter said.


	11. Chapter 11

<Sweet Shepherd, this has to be some sort of new record for how fast and hard things can go to shit while still inside a major city!> Freya cried as she watched the compiled and annotated footage. <Has the administration really changed that much since the last time we were in the Valley? Does the Schnee curse somehow become even _worse_ with each passing generation? Or is this just the inevitable consequences of being closely associated to the Keepers?>

<Well, there’s always the possibility of all three at once, we probably shouldn’t discount that,> Nick said as he sat next to her on their couch.

Freya groaned and leaned into Nick’s side. <Do you think it’s too late to change our minds about the Archon’s offer...?>

Nick smiled as he gently patted her between her ears. <Yes, but c’mon, Frosty: have some more faith in our grandchildren! I mean, so far, Weiss has only died _once,_ right?>

Freya scowled and struck him in the thigh, frost forming over Nick’s pants, surges of navy blue magic disappearing beneath the fabric. <You are an _asshole..._ _>_ she grumbled as she hopped off the couch, and stalked out of their living room.

<I know, Frosty,> Nick said, wincing as he rubbed his thigh with one hand, and shut off their HV receiver with the other. He grunted as he got up, and limped after Freya to the hall outside. <You still want to go join clean-up duty?>

<Yes!> Freya called back. <I need something to distract from the horrible events of today,> she said as she ascended a step ladder, and put her eye to a retina scanner.

<Kind of funny that we’ve gone back to focusing on all the _other_ horrible events,> Nick said as he came up beside her. <Wonder if we’ll be back to recruiting whoever’s left from the old crew.>

<Oh, just shut up and start gearing up,> Freya said as the door opened, and she stepped into her laboratory. <I’m certain we’re going to need arms and armour more urgently than their aid,> she said as she waved her hand in front a scanner.

<Point taken.> Nick said as the walls receded, revealing several racks worth of equipment, machines, and magical arrays.

Mods were used, operations were undertaken, spells were cast, changing their skin, eyes, hair, and voices; shaping and sculpting their bodies; removing scars and other identifying marks, and replacing them with entirely new ones. However, there were no changes quite as dramatic as the keystones of their disguises:

A headband and belt that would hide Freya’s ears and tail completely, and a fake set for Nick that made him look like an ox Fae.

Freya looked at Nick uneasily as he grabbed an AFA officer’s beret, used it to hide the fake sheared horns and ears. <After all these years, I _still_ can’t get used to how you look like an entirely different individual with that disguise on.>

<So long as we can still tell who we are past it all, we’re fine,> Nick replied as he started putting on the rest of his disguise.

One security sweep of their home later, and they were standing before their hideout’s wellspring, calling up their accomplices on the other side. <Dawngrazer ready and requesting coordinates for transport,> Freya said.

 _< Request received, sending coordinates now,> said _a heavily distorted voice. _< Move quickly: we can’t keep it open for long.>_

_< We know, and we will.>_

The wellspring in front of them shifted and roiled, a blurred image forming in its center, enchanted mist forming and rising above it to obscure the details even further. Then, for a brief moment, the fog lifted, and Nick and Freya jumped in, rushing along the thin trickles of mana running through the desolation of Acropolis, through the labyrinthine leylines running underneath Candela, until they finally reached their destination.

_Splash!_

Freya’s upper body burst out of a toilet, the rest of her slowly re-materializing as she grabbed the seat and pulled herself out, her whole body solid once more. She smiled and nodded at the “custodian” that was casually waiting nearby, before she stepped out of the “out of order” stall and waited with him.

_Woosh._

Nick’s arms burst out of the same toilet, sticking straight up before he grabbed the sides and tried to pull himself up. Freya and the custodian watched him fruitlessly struggle for a minute, before the latter came up to Nick, grabbed his hands, and tried to yank him out.

After another minute’s struggling, he let go, and grabbed his comm-crystal.

“Hey, uh, Jeb here in the dead-zone bathroom, looks like we got a hell of a blockage that needs clearing. Send more hands with some _serious,_ old-school hardware, drones ain’t gonna do _shit_ for whoever answered nature’s call just now.”

Soon enough, there were another two “custodians,” one of them guarding the entrance to the bathroom, and the other—Kyra—hauling in a large box of tools to the disguised teleporter.

<Seeker, can you hear me?> Kyra asked as she set it down.

Nick made a thumbs up.

<We’re going to attempt to temporarily reroute you to a different outpost, and put you on hold there while we attempt to widen the portal. Do you think you can handle being in the stream for fifteen minutes or so?>

Nick made another thumbs up.

<On three, then,> Kyra said as she raised her hand to the flush sensor, and made an intricate gesture. <One, two, _three! >_

_Woosh…!_

Nick’s arms started spinning round and round as they were transmuted back to mana, and sucked into the pipes once more. Jeb shut off the water, before the he and Kyra went to work on the toilet with all manner of tools, carefully removing it from the wall, exposing and deactivating the intricate security runes carved into the wall, until there was only an exposed pipe and a huge hole.

Jeb turned the water back on, it started to trickle and spill out onto the floor.

Kyra pulled up a Fae comm-crystal from her pocket, and said, <Okay, send him back in three, two, one…!>

The pipe started to rattle, the flow of water stopped for a moment, before it _exploded._ Enchanted water started to flood the room, Kyra and Jeb hurriedly stepped back as Nick’s arms came shooting out. They each grabbed a hand, and started pulling him out, little by little.

_Splash._

Nick landed face down in the puddle of mana water, calmly pushed himself up, and adjusted his soaking wet beret.

Jeb and Kyra craned their necks skyward and gave him apologetic looks. <Forgive us, Seeker, we did not quite realize you would be so… large.> Kyra said.

Nick grunted, and sidled past them.

<Not much for words, is he?> Jeb asked as he shut off the water.

<He really isn’t,> Freya said as she reached out to Nick, started siphoning the water soaking his clothes. <Is there anything that has changed significantly since our last briefing? Things you may not have been able to tell us over the comms?>

Kyra shook her head. <Situation is still constantly deteriorating. What do the humans call it, Murphy's Law? It’s been fucking _everywhere_ since the Eve.>

Freya thanked them, Nick grunted and nodded his head, before the two of them exited the bathroom, to a nearly deserted wing of the Candela International Airport. A few souls that were hanging out or camping there looked up and watched them curiously, but a stern look from Nick and a slow shake of his head had them minding their own business in a hurry.

They stopped as they reached the populated sections of the airport, saw just how _bad_ it had gotten.

The normally spacious, minimalist, and open design was crowded end to end with people and their belongings, camping out wherever they could; crowding around the information terminals, desks, and helper drones; arguing with the security as they tried to keep their tents and makeshift sleeping areas from getting torn down, or get escorted out the building altogether.

The PA system crackled to life:

“ _To all passengers: all commercial flights in or out of Candela are canceled indefinitely until further notice. All_ _currently active_ _flights are strictly for the use of military, disaster relief, and high-priority_ _medical evacuations. For your own safety, please do not attempt to stow away on any outgoing flights, and if you_ _witness or_ _know of any_ _persons_ _offering to facilitate such actions, kindly report them to security and/or the administration._

“ _We thank you for your continued patience during this ongoing state of emergency. This message will repeat.”_

“ _We know!_ Shut the fuck up already!” cried a woman sitting nearby.

Nick and Freya ignored her, joining a line of AFA soldiers and relief workers marching through the crowds. There were some individuals that looked at them in surprise or suspicion, but the floating security drones ID’ed and welcomed them back, and a handful of fellow Fae seekers found them and warmly greeted them like they were old friends, or at least familiar co-workers.

Their cover maintained, Nick and Freya slipped into a packed meeting room unnoticed.

At the head stood an administrator for the airport, her hair strands shooting out from her flimsy bun, her clothes rumpled and wrinkled, and with deep bags under her eyes, like she hadn’t slept for days, and hadn’t had the opportunity to remedy any of it, with mods, pharmaceuticals, or more traditional methods.

She forced a smile on her face as she gripped the podium with one hand, then fiddled with the built-in comm-crystal. “Right: is the sound system working? Visuals, closed captions? Everyone’s devices all connected to the airport’s network? Great!”

“So: since I sincerely hope you’ve all had access to, and took the time read the official reports, I’m just going to go into that ‘sensitive detail’ in the fine print: we’re pretty sure whoever these ‘Heralds’ are are trying to run a full-on recruiting drive, alongside inciting riots, dissent, and overall making things harder for everyone.

“Now, I know this is a very serious security matter and that the situation is pretty bad, to say the least, but we would REALLY like you all to try solve this as subtly and non-violently as possible.

“You know, try to listen and talk to the people, the therapists and counselors among you especially; help secure some luxuries to boost morale; and deescalate conflict as much as possible, using force, detaining, and interrogation as an absolute last resort.

“We’ve got all kinds of crazy rumours going around, about a police state, spying, and the standards for what constitutes a ‘lawful arrest’ getting a hell of a lot looser, and we’d rather not help their case with official reports.

“To be clear, I’m _absolutely not condoning_ any of you to use potentially, or outright illegal means to do this. We’re _all_ going to act within the rules, good faith, and ethics, because otherwise, how are the people supposed to trust us over the ‘opportunistic entrepreneurs’ and ‘problem solvers’ popping up all over the place?

“So, with that out of the way, I wish you all good luck as you get to work! You’re _really_ going to need it...”

There were a few more general announcements and reminders, before the soldiers and relief workers dispersed, heading out to tend to the stranded civilians in the airport, or to wherever else they were needed in the city, Nick and Freya among the latter.

The administrator watched them go with a relieved sigh, before disappeared down a side exit, telling her assistants she’d be taking a long, unofficial break, before she disappeared into her office.

She looked around and scanned the room, before with a discrete tap of her comm-crystal, she fed the security camera fake footage of her collapsing into her chair and falling asleep almost instantly. She pushed a different button, which sent a pulse running up and down the walls; when no suspicious dots or “bugs” fried from the blast, she secured the rest of her office, then made a call.

<I hope you have a good explanation for why we’ve suddenly decided to undo all our hard work here,> she grumbled as she sat down in her chair.

The distorted voice on the other end chuckled. _<_ _You say that like sabotaging a government institution_ _is_ _difficult. >_

<It is when you’re in fucking Candela!> the supervisor snapped. <Now I’d appreciate an _answer._ >

The voice sighed and clucked their tongue. _<_ _Calm down_ _, young acolyte:_ _the reason is that_ _we’re_ _our troops here in the city are exhausted, in hiding, or dead, and we need to divert the resources you’ve been using elsewhere. >_

The administrator spat. <So what, we just wait for the enemy to build themselves back up to full strength?>

_< No: we begin to sow cracks and weaknesses and their defenses as they do.> _

<I believe you overestimate just how much I’ll be able to do with what I’ll be left with.>

 _< We are certain you’ll figure out a way—we did not give you this responsibility and position if we did not have complete trust in your abilities.>_ The voice said. _< Look, I know it __is hard to see while_ _you are down_ _they’re in the front lines, but_ _trust that we_ _are making the moves that will_ _eventually_ _lead us to victory._

_< Just have faith, patience, and continue to play your part.>_

The administrator frowned, and sighed. <Fine.>

_< We will be in contact again in a week’s time. Glory to the New Order.>_

The administrator nodded. <Glory to the New Order.>

She cut the connection, stood still for a few moments, before she undid the lockdown, and got back to her duties; there was so much that needed to be done, so much work that had already been put in, and she wasn’t about to let it all go to waste now...


	12. Chapter 12

Back at the Valley, Ruby was visiting Weiss, the morning after the incident at the Terrace.

She passed through the barrier hesitantly, her face turned away and one eye open just enough to see. She gasped as she saw Weiss, her eyes lighting up and a smile spreading on her face as she rushed to her side.

“Weiss!” she cried with her arms out. She awkwardly stopped just before she threw herself at her, gripped the safety rail on the side of Weiss’ bed, the wood-metal composite shaking and creaking. “You’re okay...” she said quietly.

“Yeah, thanks to you,” Weiss said, carefully leaning out and kissing her on the cheek.

“You’re welcome, but honestly, it was the menders that did way more work bringing you back to life,” Ruby said, blushing and smiling for a moment, before she frowned, looked down, her eyes shut and beginning to tear up. “I’m sorry… it’s just...”

Weiss reached out and cupped her cheek. “Hey. Hey, Ruby: look at me.”

Ruby reluctantly looked up, misty-eyed.

“I’m alright now. Just focus on me _right now_ , and try not to think about how you I was back then, the state you saw me in, alright…?”

Ruby sniffed, and nodded. Penny handed her a tissue, she took it and wiped her tears away, blew her nose. “I’m really sorry again...” she said as she crumpled it up and tossed it into a nearby bin. “It’s just… you were in such bad shape, I didn’t think the menders could bring you back…”

“But they did, I’m alive, and I’m getting better, so no need to worry about, that okay…?” Weiss said, smiling.

Ruby sniffed again, before she smiled back. “Thanks Weiss… so, I guess you had experience with things like this?”

“Yes,” Weiss replied. “Winter liked to volunteer for, or tended to be assigned to the most dangerous missions, the ones that tended to go rather badly more often than not… anyway, let’s talk about something else: what’d I miss while I was out? Penny and I have been cut-off from the news.”

“Oh, just clean-up at the Weaver’s Terrace is a _huge_ , messy operation; almost everyone back home at the Grove joined in, or were conscripted; and me, dad, and Yang managed to get out of it yesterday for family time.”

“Did you enjoy yourselves?”

“It wasn’t really the ‘fun’ sort of bonding, but I did feel a whole lot better at the end of it, yeah,” Ruby replied, nodding.

“That’s good to hear.”

“Mhmm!” Ruby said, beaming. “It’s really different now that I don’t have to wait till it’s our day at the Honey Den, and you know, that I can talk to dad again, period.” She sighed, and looked down again, “Really sucks we won’t be able to do it again for a while...”

“Why?” Weiss asked. “What happened?”

Ruby turned back to Weiss, and said, “Well, it turned out that the titan managed to destroy a _lot_ of equipment and structures. Most of it we’ll be able to repair and reconstruct using the stockpiles in the Forge, but there was a _lot_ of specialized magitech that relies on rare, hard to get materials.

“You know, the stuff that only grows, can be grown, or found in the really dangerous parts of the Valley, far from the Bastion’s walls.”

Weiss frowned. “And I’m guessing you’re going to be part of those expeditions heading out there…?”

“Yeah,” Ruby said. “I’m going to part of the teams that are leaving by the end of this week, then it’s going to be _long_ while before we’re heading going home.”

“How long are we talking about here?” Weiss asked.

“A month, maybe two, at best…” Ruby hesitated. “… Half-a-year, at the most.”

“… Oh…”

Ruby sucked in a breath, and said, “Yeah. I’m REALLY sorry, Weiss, but I feel REALLY obligated to help; folks tend to **die** on these missions, especially when they don’t have enough strong veterans on-board, and--”

Weiss put a hand on Ruby’s arm, she stopped. “Go, don’t let me stop you,” she whispered quietly.

“A-Are you sure…?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.” Weiss replied with a nod. “You’ve had your obligations and loyalty to the Valley long before you had any to me; just... promise me you’ll be back in one piece, because _I swear_ , if you _die_ out there, I **will** find some way to chew you out from here in Avalon, even if it takes the rest of my life to figure out a way to do it!

“Can you do this for me, Ruby?”

Ruby smiled. “Yes, I promise I’ll be back, alive and in one piece.” she said.

“Kiss me so I know you’re being truthful about this.”.

“With pleasure.” Ruby said, before she leaned in and kissed her softly, lingering and enjoying the feeling and the warmth of the other’s lips on their own, before she pulled away. “I love you, Weiss.”

“I love you too, Ruby,” Weiss said. “So… any other news you want to tell us about, good or otherwise?”

“Not really news, but do you want to go you want to go buy the dreamcatcher I’ve been using to talk with Yang over the years?” Ruby asked. “At this point, Miko’ll probably happy to sell it to us, seeing as it’d be too expensive to blank it and dreamweave it again for a new client.

“We could probably use it to see each other long-distance, go on dates, maybe, or just hang out and talk longer than we could in the real world!”

“I really appreciate the intention, Ruby, but I’ll have to decline,” Weiss replied, shaking her head. “I’d rather we be talking through holos in the real world, than in a simulation that’s trying to trick my brain into thinking we’re actually right next to each other.”

“Okay, Weiss, we won’t buy it if that’s what you want,” Ruby said, before her comm-crystal beeped, and she sighed. “I have to go now, I’m not excused from Terrace clean -up _toda,y,_ so… goodbye, Weiss.”

“Goodbye, Ruby,” Weiss said.

Ruby leaned in for another kiss, before she turned around, and crossed through the barrier again.

Weiss watched her leave, the ripples spreading out as the shield filled in after her, until that section was calm again. She sighed, and stared up at the ceiling.

“I have a personal inquiry, if you do not mind, Weiss,” Penny said. “It is not urgent, but I feel it would be helpful for my understanding you better, and thus, improving my services to and interactions with you.”

“Go ahead.” Weiss said flatly.

“I am assuming your rejection of Ruby’s offer has a high probability of involving your negative opinion of the Trance in general,” Penny said. “Is my inference correct?”

“Yes.”

“Do you wish to expound upon it further?”

Weiss sighed heavily. “No, especially not to you—not for any personal reasons, but, you know.”

“I understand, Weiss,” Penny said. “Just so you are aware, even though I _do_ record everything, I can designate certain facts, details, and recordings, as irrelevant, or require a high authorization level to access it, far beyond that of the majority of the other chroniclers assigned to matters involving the Keeper.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, but I’d still rather not take the risk,” Weiss said. “Anyway: got any recommendations for heartbreak...?”

“Watching romantic holos for catharsis are a frequently used and effective solution,” Penny replied. “Would you like those that ultimately result in happy outcomes, or those that end more tragically?”

“The latter,” Weiss said. “I never liked seeing happy couples when my own love life was in the toilet.”

“Making recommendations now...” Penny said, her and Weiss debating and discussing their choices for a while, before they settled on a selection to marathon.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Yang came to visit.

“Hey there, Princess!” she said as she rolled in through the barrier on a wheelchair. The smile on her face disappeared. “Yeesh, bad timing?”

“No, no, it’s fine!” Weiss cried, her voice clogged with tears and snot. “I’m just watching tragic romance holos with Penny, and I’m just--” she grabbed a tissue out of the dispenser Penny was holding out for her, and blew her nose. “… They’re really good...” she mumbled as she tossed it into her overflowing bin, grabbed a new one to dab her eyes with.

“Do you want me to come back when you’re feeling better?” Yang asked.

Weiss shook her head as she crumpled up the tissue in her hand, nudged Penny’s HV projector arm out of the way. “I’m good…” she paused. “And what the hell happened to you...?”

“I was dueling with Ruby earlier,” Yang said. “Let me tell you, think twice before you ask her to a match she can win by any means except death or dismemberment.”

“What’d she _do?”_

Yang looked away to the side. “Yeah, ah, the moment Ren said ‘Fight,’ she kicked me in the cunt.”

Weiss winced.

“So, moving on…” Yang said as she turned back to Weiss. “I’ve got a proposition for ya, Princess!”

“What _kind_ of proposition?” Weiss asked as she laid her arms across her lap.

“A mutually beneficial one,” Yang said. “Ruby’s already told you about the expeditions, right?”

“Right, so I’m assuming you’re joining?”

“No, because they won’t let me in the divisions I want, which is wherever Ruby’s going, and/or wherever the most action and excitement is,” Yang said. “I have the fighting skills, but I don’t have the quality of gear those high-risk missions need, nor do I have any recommendations nor the reputation here in the Fae territories to convince the Council it’s worth lending me a set.”

“So where do I come into this?”

Yang smiled. “Weiss, how would you like to become Pit Fighters with me?

“It’s a great way for you to learn how to harness and use all that magic in a fun and profitable way; it’ll help me build up both the shinies and the rep so I can get the gear to join Ruby, you, and everyone else on the Keeper team; and it’ll make the whole Valley safer, when we can _all_ go on whatever high-risk missions need doing, or horror-from-the-Valley that needs asskicking!

“Everybody wins, don’t you think?”

Weiss nodded. “It certainly seems to be that way, but I’ve got a few questions.”

Yang opened her arms out, and said, “Hit me!”

“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just join the Watcher’s Roost, or just become a Pit Fighter by yourself?” Weiss asked. “Or can you not do either, not unless I’m part of it as a package deal?”

Yang playfully pointed at her. “Very perceptive, Weiss! That’s an excellent trait in anyone, Pit Fighter or no.”

“Thank you. Now, my questions?”

Yang sighed. “You’re right, the Roost won’t take me in because my criminal record is too recent and too serious—with the sole exception for the Eve this year—and the Pits _will_ , but it’ll take me a hell of a lot longer than I’d want to by myself, than with you.”

“So you need me to use my sway and notoriety as the Keeper’s mate to raise your profile above the masses?”

“Not true!” Yang said. “The Pit prioritizes weavers, as they’re rare, and always good for a show, the more powerful ones especially. So, what do you say?”

“I’ll think about it,” Weiss said. “I don’t want to jump into this plan until I know more about the Pits myself.”

“Take your time, Weiss!” Yang said, beaming. “It’ll be a while before I feel I’ve sharpened my skills up to the level of the Fae here! Besides, I’ve still got to think of our marketing, too!”

“Our ‘marketing’…?” Weiss asked.

“It isn’t enough to just be good at fighting at the Pits, Weiss,” Yang replied. “You gotta have a presence, a brand, an iconic name, especially for duos, teams, and clans—speaking of which, how’s ‘Firefist and Frostbite’ sound to you?”

Weiss scowled. “No.”

“’Sapphire Fox and Golden Dragon?’”

“No!”

“How about ‘Freezerburn?’”

Weiss face-palmed, and gestured for Yang to leave, the nurse pushing her wheelchair obliged. “I promise you won’t regret this, Weiss!” Yang said as she started to pass through the barrier again. “Just focus on getting better, then getting a handle on your powers, I’ll handle everything else!”

They left, Weiss removed her hand from her face and turned to Penny. “Any recommendations on where to start doing research about the Pits?” she asked.

“There’s always the instructional video specifically for prospective Pit Fighters born and/or raised in the human territories,” Penny offered.

“The Fae have that?”

“Yes! The Pits are a very attractive career choice for expatriates much like yourself, especially because a great deal of them happen to have some, to a _significant_ level of combat experience.”

“Load it up, then,” Weiss said as she got comfortable in her bed again.

Penny pulled her HV projector arm back in front of Weiss, and they started watching the holo, “So, You Want To Be A Pit Fighter...”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I’ve been rereading Keeper to get a handle of where I am in this story, and I realize that Winter spoke of the escape plans and doubting being able to escape the Valley twice, and she said it in this story like she hadn’t already been doubtful of it, and spoke it here like it was for the first time. God, I really need to keep a timeline of conversations and important beats, I think.
> 
> I probably won’t, but still. Anyway, here’s the next chapter, seeing as last week was the end of AWRD.

Bee came to visit later that evening, bearing news of the Terrace’s clean-up efforts so far. Most of the minutiae was downloaded straight to Penny’s databanks with a Fae version of a data storage crystal, while Bee told Weiss and Winter a summarized account.

“… So, with the Water Quadrant indefinitely closed until further notice, and Primal Aeilana also either completely occupied with the clean-up, and with her joining the expedition for supplies and components leaving this week, we’ll all be training under the other Primals at their Quadrants for the time being.

“Generally speaking, our class will be split up into small, 2-3 folk groups, scheduled on different days of the week, in different Quadrants at once. The actual training sessions will be supervised by the Primals, or their own chosen representatives, and we won’t be required to interact or join up with any of their original students, unless it’s specifically for cross-element training.”

Bee looked up from the holo with her notes. “So, any questions, concerns, or objections?”

“Nothing from me,” Weiss said, “I’m just happy I don’t need to meet a new group of folks I might accidentally kill with my magic...”

“ _Just one question on my part:_ _if I’m already considered part of_ _Primal Aeilana’s class as you and Weiss are_ _, does this mean I’_ _m exempted from_ _the_ _initiation rite,_ _even after she returns and the Quadrant is reopened_ _?”_ Winter asked through the can.

“Yes, you can skip it,” Bee replied. “The Evoking Altar is _very_ low on the master list of repairs and replacements, and Primal Aeilana is not willing to wait for however long it takes for it to get the greenlight, more so fixed.”

“ _Oh, thank Piper...”_

“I wouldn’t be too relaxed if I were you, though: Primal Aeilana will figure out an alternative rite, and she’s probably already asking around for ideas as we speak.”

“ _Trust me, my only concern is avoiding facing a realized representation of my fear of the Keepers.”_ Winter replied. _“_ _Otherwise, I am_ good _for whatever ridiculously dangerous and/or ill-advised stunt she wants me to do.”_

Bee smiled, and said, “Just a bit of friendly advice: _never say that in front of Primal Aeilana.”_

“ _Duly noted.”_

“And with that out of the way, it’s time for the last item on my list,” Bee said as she turned to Weiss. “Weiss, seeing as your coat, mask, gauntlet, and focus have severely damaged, and Maker Abner has just informed us today that he has no definite time frame on when he can finish repairs and upgrades, you’ll be lent stock set in the meanwhile, the same standardized gear used in the Pits.

“ _However_ , since it’s not _nearly_ as good at controlling your power as your original gear, you’ll also be wearing a magical inhibitor for a while.”

Weiss nodded. “What does it look like?”

“There are actually very many variations of the design, but what you will likely be wearing is this,” Penny said, before projecting a holo with a picture of the device alone, and being worn on by a model.

“… Are you _seriously_ telling me I’m going to be wearing a cone of shame?!”

“The element-proof cone will likely be considered optional, so you will only really be wearing the main body of the collar, if with additional accessories,” Penny explained.

“And what will _those_ look like?” Weiss asked, annoyed.

Penny showed her.

“Okay, now you have _got_ to be fucking kidding me!” Weiss snapped. “That can’t be it! That can’t possibly be it!” she wavered for a moment, and turned to Bee. “Is it…?”

“It is,” she said gravely.

“Motherfuck...” Weiss growled.

“ _What_ does _it look like?”_ Winter asked.

“I believe the closest objects you are familiar with would be mittens and socks, similar to those worn by infants, except larger.”

Winter paused for a moment, before she sniggered.

Weiss scowled at the can.

“ _Sorry.”_

“I would like to clarify that it’s only about a 30-27% chance that the menders will decide you require such accessories!” Penny said.

“Thanks,” Weiss grumbled, before she turned to Bee. “Anything else?”

“The same deal applies to Penny’s new body, but she’s got a loaner, too,” Bee said. “It should be arriving by the time you wake up tomorrow morning, actually! So, any questions, concerns, or objections?”

No one had any, they bid Bee farewell, and she left.

“ _So, after all this time, looks like we’ll finally be able to go to school together, in the same classes, huh, Weiss?”_ Winter said.

“And we’ll _both_ be much older than our peers, delayed by several years, and stick out like two sore thumbs, especially since neither of us can speak fluent Actaeon yet,” Weiss added flatly.

“ _Yes, that’s true, but I think we should really focus on the bright side of all this, Weiss: there’s no more having to worry about Father’s ideas and opinions about the path our education and lives are supposed to take; the curriculum, classes, and projects here are going to be infinitely more interesting than anything we’ve ever had; and the skills and qualifications we can get from the Terrace are going to go a_ long _way to improving our lives here in the Valley.”_

Weiss nodded, and paused for a moment. “Hey Winter? Can we at least try and go to the Terrace on the same days and at the same time, even if we’re in different groups and at different quadrants?” Weiss asked.

“ _Of course, Weiss!”_ Winter replied. _“As much as I can help it, I’ll be there right by your side._ _B_ _esides, you could use the extra help if you get the cone_ and _the mittens.”_

Weiss scowled. “Oh, _fuck you_ , Winter...”

“ _I love you too, Weiss, goodnight.”_

“Night.” Weiss said, before Penny pulled the can out of the barrier and “hung up.”

Weiss was quiet for a moment, before she turned to Penny, and asked, “Hey Penny? When we get back to training at the Weaver’s Terrace, do you think anyone’s going to hate and/or be afraid of me because of everything that’s happened…?”

“I will be frank: there is a _very_ high possibility of them holding very negative opinions of you, but I sincerely doubt that many of them will go through the effort and the consequences of publicly airing said opinions, especially towards you personally. Aside from the fact that you are the Keeper’s mate, the weavers _strongly_ encourage good relations among the members of their Order: if they cannot achieve harmonious cooperation, then they should at least strive for peaceful coexistence.”

“Heh,” Weiss smiled, “seems like Feroki hasn’t gotten that part yet, has he?”

“It certainly seems that way!” Penny chirped. “Though, to be fair, he still has yet to mature into an adult, nor advance to the Adept level.”

Weiss nodded. “Thanks for that, Penny, good night,” she said, before she closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

“You are welcome, Weiss, and good night also,” Penny said, before she went into standby mode.

The next morning, Weiss was woken up by a mender, informing her that Penny was to be taken away to be installed into her loaner body, and that Weiss was to start her special physical therapy that day.

“What exactly are they going to do to me?” Weiss asked as the barrier around her bed was taken down, and she was carefully loaded into a wheelchair.

“I have been given any exact details, nor do I have time to explain all the possibilities, but I can assure you it is most _definitely_ going to be incredibly thorough considering your condition!” Penny said as she was taken away, before she was too far away for her voice to be heard.

“What exactly are they going to do to me?” Weiss said as she looked up at the menders accompanying her.

<Sorry, Nivian no speak,> said one as he pointed at himself and his companion. <Mender in charge can, tell you when you get there.>

<Thank you,> Weiss said, before she was wheeled out of the ward and down one of the hospital’s many halls, wondering what sort of fresh hell the Valley had in store for her now...

* * *

_Fifteen minutes later…_

Weiss lay naked and stomach-down on a blanket on top of a flat slab of rock, completely limp and relaxed as a therapy mender massaged her, while carefully working in a series of oils, balms, and lotions into her skin. Lines of ice blue magic and many other colours glowed all over her body, flowing and moving along with the mender’s hands or on invisible paths; rippling and spreading out over her skin; or pooled up and stagnant in some places, until something forced them to flow again or dispelled them entirely.

The lights were low and warm; a bowl of incense, herbs, and oils burned beside Weiss and produced a sweet, relaxing smoke; the wall of enchanted air gently swirling around them kept all the other scents and sounds around them out, the temperature at _just_ the right range for Weiss’ comfort.

<How are you feeling, Weaver Schnee?> her mender asked.

Weiss gave an incoherent, burbling sound of pleasure and satisfaction.

The mender giggled. <I would take that as a ‘I am feeling quite well, thank you.’>

The rest of her treatment proceeded like a luxurious spa day: more specific treatments for her hands and feet that happened to include a manicure-pedicure; a facial with some mildly hallucinogenic (but incredibly pleasant) aromatherapy involved; a stroll through the hospital’s vibrant and expansive garden to get some sun, fresh air, and enjoy the greenery; until it ended with a special breakfast outdoors, along with some tonics and medication.

What parts of the menu and items on her prescription that were less than pleasant to take were vastly outnumbered by the ones Weiss happily took her sweet time savouring. She largely ignored the other patients around her and they did the same, until Jaune happened to be as set down on the free space beside her.

“Morning, Jaune!” Weiss chipred, figuratively and literally glowing from the leftover traces of mana dancing on her skin. “Fruit? I don’t know what it is yet, but it’s certainly fresh and delicious!” she said, extending her plate filled with bite-sized, artfully cut chunks.

“I’ll pass...” Jaune moaned, slouching over the table with his arms resting on it.

“Still reeling from your head injury?” Weiss asked sympathetically.

“No, well, kinda, but it’s not really—“ Jaune sighed, took a deep breath, then said, “I just got back from a _really_ intense massage...”

“You did? I can’t imagine why you look so down right now, mine was _incredible!”_ Weiss said, before she popped another bite into her mouth.

“Eh, I think it’s because we’re different, uh, what is it, ‘alignments’ or something?” Jaune replied. “They said that since I was earth, and because I apparently wasn’t massaged enough or properly for a few years, they said they needed to use a _really_ firm hand.”

Weiss swallowed, and asked, “How firm are we talking about exactly...?”

* * *

_Twenty minutes earlier..._

Jaune screamed as an incredibly large and muscular therapy mender-weaver slowly ran his massive hands over Jaune’s body, magical ripples glowing on his skin, shaking him like a miniature, localized earthquake. “Ilias, so much tension! So many knots! So many disrupted flows!” his mender bellowed over Jaune’s whimpering. “No wonder your body is in such poor condition, Mr. Arc!”

Jaune burst into a fresh round of tears. “Please, _make it stop!”_

“We will, we will!” the mender said as he started to move into more powerful kneading, intenser pulses of earth magic. _“Trust me,_ Mr. Arc: by the time you’re out of this hospital, you will feel like a new man!” he continued as he grabbed one of Jaune’s legs, and gently bent it.

“AAAGH!”

“You will find all your old pains and aches have disappeared, _especially_ those you never knew were there!” he began to slowly stretch it out again.

“ _AAA-HAAAH-HAAAH…!”_

“Then, then you will see the true peaks of your power, the true capabilities of your body!”

Jaune’s mender exploded into boisterous laughter as Jaune quietly sobbed and whimpered.

* * *

“… Yeah, that does sound a LOT more unpleasant than what I went through...” Weiss said quietly. “Did it work, at least?”

“Yeah...” Jaune falling forward and letting his head hit the table. “Still gonna be sore for a while, though...”

“There, there, Jaune: I predict a high chance that your condition will begin to rapidly improve in the near future, both physically and in general,” Penny said as she came up to them.

Weiss turned to her, and gasped, her eyes widening. “Penny! You’re back! And oh my gosh, you look so adorable!”

Penny giggled as she flew in front of them, her core was now housed in a human-style flying drone with part of her original ears and tail attached, the custom covering making her look like a round, soft, flying mouse plushie with brilliant green eyes. “Maker Abner thought it necessary that my loaner body look as aesthetically pleasing, nonthreatening, and friendly as possible.”

“Well I certainly approve,” Weiss said. “Can I touch you?”

“Go right ahead,” Penny said, “this body was designed for it.”

“Thanks!” Weiss said as she reached out and started touching Penny. “Oh, wow, did this cover come from the Plushie Palace?”

“Yes it did!” Penny repiled. “Almost 100% Viridian Valley Sheep Wool, with some necessary additives! And speaking of the Palace, a representative from them actually wishes to see you quite urgently.”

“Why the rush?” Weiss asked as she pulled her hand back.

“It’s about the terms of repayment for your loan to them, from their buying your debt from the Trader’s Guild and returning your collateral, Winter’s Eluna Plushie.” Penny replied.

“Oh, that, right!” Weiss said, nodding. “I completely forgot about it, so much has happened since then… anyway, can it really not wait? I’m really enjoying myself right now...” she said, gesturing to her breakfast.

“I can understand the sentiment, Weiss, and under other circumstances, I would have encouraged the Palace to please return on another, more convenient date for you, but it _really_ would be prudent to assess this matter as soon as possible.”

“Is it really that serious?” Weiss asked, her body’s glow fading slightly.

“Well, I don’t mean to alarm you, Weiss, but if we don’t come up with a solid plan to make the first payment within the next two weeks, and all future payments after that, there is a _very_ high chance we will default, and have to face legal and economic repercussions that will effectively render us bankrupt for the next five-ten years.”

Weiss blinked. “… I’m sorry, say _what_ again…?”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We now return to your regularly scheduled weekly updates.

The Plushie Palace’s representative was a gazelle Fae and an Honour, dressed in the luxurious robes of her Order, perfectly tailored to her lithe, tall figure, with the insignia on her chest, the bands on her wrists and ankles, and the threads of her clothes glittering in the sunlight and giving her a radiant, imposing aura.

All the folks in the area noticed her, and immediately took action: those that were near her moved aside and let her through with deference, those that were in her path quickly cleared it, and those that were well out of the way looked, eyes widening, eyebrows raising, before quiet whispers began to fill the air.

By the time she neared Weiss, she, Penny, and Jaune were the only three beings inside the invisible barrier that had suddenly been erected around them.

“Good morning, Weaver Schnee, my name is Honour Sharrar, representing the Plushie Palace,” Sharrar said, extending her hand with a polite, measured smile. “I sincerely apologize for the early hour of my visit, and for any convenience I may have caused you because of it.”

Weiss looked at Sharrar’s impeccably manicured and pristine nails-hooves, then at her own fingernails, already stained with fruit juice and some pulp; she quickly grabbed a napkin and wiped them clean, before she hesitantly reached up and shook hands with Sharrar.

“It’s no trouble at all, Honour...” Weiss said, feeling Sharrar’s firm, strong grip. “Please, take a seat,” Weiss said as she let go, and gestured to the number of empty seats nearby.

“Thank you, Weaver,” Sharrar said, smoothly sliding into one of them, at a polite distance from Weiss. “If you do not mind, I would like to skip the rest of the formalities and go straight into business; as I’m sure Mender Polendina has relayed to you, time is of the essence for this matter.”

“She had, and I don’t mind, Honour,” Weiss replied, unconsciously sitting up straighter, glancing down to check where her hands and arms were placed.

Sharrar nodded, read some notes off her comm-crystal, then said, “The Plushie Palace _strongly_ encourages you to please make your first debt repayment on or before the recently extended deadline, which is exactly two weeks from today, midnight on November 18, 1100 AL by the human calendar, or the 19th day of the Season of Death, year 1407 ATG by the Fae calendar.

“Though my client will continue to assist you financially, via the lower interest rates and more flexible deadlines than normal, alongside other forms of assistance we may offer you in the future, should you prove unable to make the minimum payments for three installments in a row, my client finds proof that you are abusing our good will and/or tarnishing their reputation, and _especially_ if you default, then they will _not_ hesitate to use every single legal and economic means available to them to seek recompense.”

Weiss gulped. “And what would that involve…?” she whispered.

“It was intentionally left unspecified in the contract, as it will depend on a number of factors, such as the hypothetical amounts of the debt repaid and left unpaid, and the decisions of my client. However, some commonly used methods include taxes and penalties to all of your future wages and profits for the next 2-25 years, indentured servitude, and asset forfeiture.

“Please note that almost all of your current assets are exempt from seizure for a variety of reasons, but the Eluna plushie that Trader Scarlatina had gifted to you is not. In fact, my client wishes to inform you that should you choose to relinquish it to them within the next 30 days in adequate condition, they will be all too happy to _completely_ forgive the debt.”

Weiss frowned, and shook her head. “I am afraid that’s not going to be happening, Honour Sharrar.”

“If that is your decision, Weaver Schnee,” Sharrar said coolly. “Do you have any other questions about the debt, and the terms of repayment?”

“None at the moment, Honour,” Weiss said.

“Then there is only one more matter to attend to,” Sharrar said as she crossed out an item on her notes, then looked back to Weiss. “Trader Scarlatina wished for me to personally inform you that majority of the executive board _strongly_ opposed the decision to purchase your debt from the Trader’s Guild, return the collateral to you, and _without_ any sort of replacement of similar, equal, or greater value. She believes it was only through your family’s lifelong patronage and loyalty to the company, the SPC’s support and subsidies for our various projects and daily operations, and her clout as the latest in the Scarlatina line that she convinced them to sign off on the decision.”

Sharrar leaned in, her face darkening dramatically. “For both your sakes, please do your best to show that her faith was not _misplaced.”_

Weiss paled. “I will.”

Sharrar leaned back and smiled. “Trader Scarlatina will be quite happy to hear that. Our business is concluded; good day, Weaver Schnee, and I wish you a swift recovery,” she said as she gracefully stood up.

“Good day, Honour Sharrar, and thank you,” Weiss said.

Sharrar left, the crowds once more stepping aside and giving way to her, showing deference as she passed by.

“Are all Fae lawyers that scary…?” Jaune asked quietly.

“They are called ‘Honours,’ and no, not unless they are also of Honour Sharrar’s specialty and seniority,” Penny replied. “As you might expect, her position and the nature of her work tend to naturally attract Fae of a certain disposition.”

“So what do we do now?” Weiss asked as she turned her attention back to her plate, idly picking at her food.

“It would be prudent to make concrete short term and long term plans for paying off your debt,” Penny said. “I have actually already prepared a proposal, since Honour Sharrar arrived and reminded us of the loan.”

“Let’s hear it, then!” Weiss said, before she put another piece of fruit into her mouth.

Penny began to explain her plans, and they spent the rest of Weiss’ stay in the hospital putting it to action.

They started with Winter, calling her up via comm-crystal. They managed to catch her in one of the hospital’s baths, leaning back on the edge of the pool, steam and candle smoke rising around her, the holo just large enough to clearly show she was naked without revealing anything scandalous.

“Hello, Weiss,” Winter said serenely. “Did you need something?”

Weiss blushed. “Uh, yes, I do, but maybe I can call back at a later time?”

“If you’re concerned about ruining my relaxation, you were already beaten to the punch,” Winter said.

“Hey, princess,” Qrow said from off-screen.

Weiss thought for a moment, before she shrugged, and said, “So, you remember when I told you we pawned off Eluna, then Velvet bought the debt from the Guild to get her back? Well, the Palace has come to collect...”

Weiss and Penny proceeded to explain the debt, along with sending Winter a graphical representation of Penny’s repayment plan. Winter’s eyes widened at her first look at them, her relaxed expression disappearing as she studied the figures.

“I hadn’t quite realized the value of an Eluna had risen so sharply over the years….” Winter muttered as she pulled aside the charts on her end. “That, and how large a Soul Eater bounty is compared to it.”

“To be fair, we get those motherfuckers at least twice a year, and no one is dying to get one all for themselves,” Qrow said.

“So are you willing to shoulder them for a while...?” Weiss asked, butting in.

“Of course I am, Weiss!” Winter said, smiling. “My funds are your funds, and besides, I’m the one that’s been getting the most utility out of Eluna.”

“Speaking of funds, I don’t know about the others, but I’m still open to you making booze for me, and paying you for your time and effort,” Qrow said. “Just make sure it doesn’t kill me this time.”

“Pardon?” Winter asked.

“It’s a long story.”

“I appreciate the offer, Qrow, but I apologize, I’ve already got different plans when it comes to my alchemy,” Weiss said.

“Eh, no feathers off my wings with that,” Qrow said.

Weiss bade them both farewell, before she hung up, and called Bee next. She was at home, taking a day off from the Terrace, but was happy to hear out her predicament, and her plans to get out of it. “… So, what do you think?” Weiss said by the end of it. “Can it work out, or am I just being overly optimistic?”

“It’ll _definitely_ work!” Bee replied, nodding. “With most of the competition joining the expeditions or about to be understaffed, and the Terrace dedicating most of its resource stores to the repairs, the market’s never been better for small-time producers like you to make a killing, maybe even make the necessary preparations to stick around for the long-term!

“You’ll probably need to specialize in rare and niche products and ingredients, though; the more common and safer stuff is only really profitable if you can make and sell them by the tons, day in, day out.”

“Any recommendations on where to start?”

“Nami and Cheska have got some _pretty_ sizable wishlists, even before this whole titan business. Want me to send you them?”

“Please _and_ thank you!” Weiss said, smiling, before she sighed. “I really appreciate the help, Bee, you don’t know how much this means to me.”

Bee chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry about it! It’s like my father always says, ‘goodwill and kindness is almost always an excellent investment.’”

Weiss nodded, before she frowned. “Hey Bee, can I tell you something personal?”

“I’m all ears,” Bee said, her ears twitching.

“I feel _really_ bad for planning to make a profit out of all this,” Weiss replied. “I helped cause the disaster that made the markets fluctuate as they did, and _now_ it feels like I’m taking advantage of all these folks, too.”

“Don’t be,” Bee said, smiling. “Believe me, every weaver I know has at least ONE story when they accidentally broke an expensive something or somethings when their powers got out of hand—the keys here being ‘accidentally,’ and that they sincerely wanted to make up for it as apology, not for unethical profiteering.”

“Most of those affected have also probably filed claims with the Guild to receive their payouts from Keeper’s Mate insurance,” Penny said.

“There’s Keeper Mate insurance...?” Weiss asked.

“Yep!” Bee said. “How do you think the Council paid for all the services, products, and accidents you’ve gotten, used, or had so far?”

“Huh. In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have been so surprised.”

“Anyway: don’t be afraid to call me again for business or legal advice, especially those related to weavers specifically!” Bee said. “I may not be formally trained in either, but I’ve picked up a lot from my parents over the years.”

“I won’t! Thanks again, Bee!” Weiss said, before she hung up, and made her final call.

“Sup, princess!” Yang said as she picked up, sitting on the couch back at Keeper’s Grove. “Had enough time to think about my offer, I’m hoping?”

“It’s more like the universe has yet again forced my hand, and my answer is yes, I will be your partner in the Pits.” Weiss replied.

Yang cheered and pumped her fist. “Fuck yeah!”

“Please know I will still have to _seriously_ object to any ridiculous pun names, regardless of how much that helps our brand,” Weiss said.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Weiss!” Yang said. “Pyrrha’s already suggested a suitably badass team name: how’s ‘The Furies’ sound to you?”

“Like the Old World myths?” Weiss asked.

“Exactly!” Yang said, shooting Weiss a finger gun. “The best part is, the copyright for it expires in a week, and we just gotta reserve it before the original owners renew, or someone other team takes it! Then, the three of us will be kicking ass and taking names as ‘The Furies!’”

Weiss nodded. “I’m surprised you managed to convince Pyrrha to join up.”

“And apparently neither of us knew her that well, because she was game for it the moment I floated the idea to her!” Yang asid, chuckling. “Anyway, I promise you won’t regret this, Weiss! The three of us? We’re definitely going places, and take that from someone with a _lot_ of experience in Valentino’s underground fighting circuits!

“Just try not to get hospitalized _too_ often from here on out, alright?” Yang said, winking.

Weiss rolled her eyes, and said, “I’ll sincerely try,” before she hung up, and sighed. “Anything else I need to address ASAP, Penny?”

“None that I am, or can be aware of!” Penny said. “Now, the best course of action is to relax, maintain a positive attitude, and try not to hamper your recovery in any way.”

Weiss nodded, got a glass of water from nearby, and took a long, much needed drink.

“Hey Weiss?” Jaune asked. “Sorry for butting in, but do you think there’s any room for me in your plans?”

“I’m not sure,” Weiss replied as she put her glass down. “Penny?”

“If you’re interested, Jaune, you could always become a server to Weiss,” Penny said. “She will most assuredly need someone to assist her with physically laborious tasks for the foreseeable future, what with how serious her injuries were, my presently being bereft of a fully-equipped body, your being very well suited for the job.”

“I’m warning you though, I probably won’t be able to pay you much, even if I wanted to,” Weiss said.

“That’s okay,” Jaune replied. “I’m really just looking for the experience and the echoes, kinda like what Taiyang said he did when first got here in the Valley.”

“Well in that case, I won’t say no to the help!” Weiss said, extending her hand to Jaune.

Jaune smiled, however wearily. “Thanks.”

They shook, and so began Weiss plans for the rest of that year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winter and Qrow were put in the same private bath together (with two watchers and a mender on stand-by) to encourage them to talk, communicate, and defuse any potential heated conflicts that might escalate to violence again.
> 
> As much of a drunkard as he is, Qrow is one of the most hardened and seasoned veterans of the Watchers, and the Council has great interest in utilizing Winter’s skills and experience as a former Queensguard.
> 
> The Keeper’s team are lumped in with regular Keeper’s Insurance, with some specific costs shouldered by Keeper’s Mate insurance, once they are found.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I’m really losing steam and just writing filler lately, thanks to RL. I hope you guys don’t mind, but if you want to swing back to the action/shit hitting the fan that you all know off, it’s coming next chapter.
> 
> Also, to the commenter that was afraid of lawyers, I’m afraid they’re back, but in a much less terrifying role than Sharrar’s.
> 
> Also, also, it is time, once again.

The morning of the day the first of the expeditions were due to leave, Weiss was finally discharged from the hospital, with a brand new magic inhibitor collar around her neck (sans cone), a package of oils, ointments, and other treatments to take home, and Winter happily pushing her wheelchair down the halls to the transport hub.

With most of the Grove’s residents helping the preparations, or making the most of their time before they set out of the gates, it was only the Schnee sisters who were around to celebrate Weiss’ return, in their now completed house atop the barn…

… If you didn’t count every single one of Winter’s elementals, at least.

“I can’t believe you went through the trouble of calling up _every single one of them!_ _”_ Weiss said as she sat on the couch in their living room, miniature, water-based animals running around all over the place or lounging on the furniture, only as large as their plushie selves were.

“And I can’t believe you’re so surprised I did!” Winter said as she sat beside her, her lap full of her summons vying for space, and especially her attention. “Do you really think I’d pass up the opportunity to have some actual, animate household pets for the first time in my life?”

“No, but I thought you’d go about in a more… restrained, fashion,” Weiss said as a few of them nudged her arm, trying to get some affection from her.

“I’d thought about that, but then I realized, the ones that hadn’t been summoned yet would get jealous, and I can’t just play favourites like that to my precious lifelong friends, can I?” Winter said, her voice turning a pitch higher as she grabbed armfuls of her summons and nuzzled her face into them. “Besides, with the Council paying for daily necessities and utilities, and your farming, I can spare the Shinies to sustain them off the power grid, even with your loan repayments,” she said as she put them back down.

As if on cue, Weiss comm-crystal started to beep and flash.

“Speak of the devil...?” Winter asked.

Weiss checked who was calling. “Not the one you’re thinking of, no,” she said as she got up off the couch, and headed for the balcony.

Winter’s expression grew uneasy. “Please, feel free to close the doors behind you if you need more privacy,” she said.

Weiss did as she stepped outside, and answered her comm-crystal. “Hello, Ruby,” she said, smiling.

“Hey Weiss!” Ruby said, waving. “Congratulations on getting out of the hospital!”

“Thank you. I’m assuming you’re calling because of the potentially crippling debt I’m now in?” Weiss asked.

“No, not that—well, not right now, at least!” Ruby replied. “I’m here at the Tree of Life, and well, I was wondering if you’d like to come over, so we can talk about that relationship contract we talked about?”

Weiss blinked. “Contract? Wait, never mind, I remember now! So, what about it, exactly?”

“The honours have already finished drafting it, and we’ve each got one free and available for counseling right now; all we really need is for the both of us to be here at the same time to make any changes from it, or just sign it and make it binding, if you’re already okay with what we’ve written.”

She sheepishly looked away. “I mean, you don’t _have_ to come over, especially since you just came back from the hospital, you’ll be super busy for the next couple months, and I’ll be gone the next couple of months to half the year...” she turned back to Weiss and looked at her with doe eyes “… but I would still really appreciate it if you did.”

Weiss barely kept herself from making a rather _undignified_ noise. “I’ll… be there in an hour, I want to be _somewhat_ presentable.”

Ruby beamed. “See you in an hour then, Weiss! I love you!”

“See you then, Ruby, and I love you, too,” Weiss said, before she ended the call, and headed back inside.

Winter and almost all of her summons were looking at her curiously. “Well? What did she say?” Winter asked.

“Ruby was just calling about the relationship contract we drafted, and I’m heading out to the Tree of Life to go over it,” Weiss replied as she strode to their bedroom. “All of my stuff’s been moved here, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, all of it’s on the left side of the dressers and drawers, and are you _sure_ you still want to do this?” Winter asked. “I mean, you’ve had a week to think about this! Plenty of things have happened since then! You’ve got other obligations that might get in the way…!”

“I’m sure,” Weiss replied calmly, before she stepped into their room, and closed the door after her.

Winter’s elementals—in her lap, lounging everywhere else around the house, or still inside their plushie forms—turned to look at her as one. She sighed, and tilted her head back. “Just let her go,” she muttered, “she’s not a little kid anymore...”

The elementals all nodded, either returning to their business, or soothing Winter however they could.

* * *

A little less than an hour later, Weiss was at the Tree of Life, dressed in one of her more formal dresses and jackets, her hair freshly combed out and styled into a neater ponytail, and with a bit of make-up on, from the batch she’d made in her lab some time back. The guards greeted her and guided her to the consulting room where Ruby was, up on one of the higher floors, and just beside one of the elevators.

There was a single round table there, two honours sitting down and waiting patiently, while Ruby was slumped in her seat. She looked exhausted as she massaged her writing hand, until she saw Weiss step in, and immediately perked up. “Weiss! You made it!” she cried.

The honours turned to Weiss, and smiled too. “Good morning, Weaver Schnee!” one of them said as he gestured to the chairs beside him. “Please, take a seat.”

Weiss did, the honours and introduced themselves—both were specialized in relationships, marriages, and other unions—before they got to reviewing the contract. Save for some more specific, formal language, and a handful of terminology that the honours used, it had remained almost completely unchanged since Ruby and Weiss had drafted it, and the neither of them weren’t interested in changing it.

“Are you both sure?” one of the honours asked. “As it is, the contract is very bare bones, and there is still quite a lot of room for specifics and conditions.”

“We’re sure,” Weiss asked, Ruby nodding as she sat on the other side of the table.

“Are you certain?” the other honour asked. “It can be _quite_ difficult to get both parties to agree to modify or add to the terms after the contract has been signed, _especially_ after a notable incident and/or disagreement.”

“Again, we’re sure.” Weiss said.

The honours both nodded. “Then please, sign here, and here,” one of them said as they pulled out several copies of it and pens, Ruby and Weiss signed, before all four of them were heading out of the consultation room and back into the hallway with the finished contracts in hand.

“May your new relationship be a long, happy, and prosperous one!” both of the honours said, before they all they went their separate ways.

“Thank you!” Weiss called after them, before she sighed heavily.

“Something wrong, Weiss?” Ruby asked.

“I am just _extremely_ pissed at the universe right now,” Weiss said as she held up her copy of the contract. “Here we are, now officially a couple in the eyes of the law, and what do we have to look forward to? An imminent separation of a month to half a year, with no time to do anything as a couple other than sign the fucking paperwork together!

“I’m not _surprised_ at this point _,_ honestly, just really, _really_ pissed,” she said, before she crossed her arms and sulked.

Ruby nodded and put a hand on Weiss, about to give her a sympathetic look, before she caught sight of one of the large clocks decorating the walls. “Actually, maybe we do have time to do something together...’” she said.

“What, thinking of abandoning your duties for me?” Weiss asked sarcastically.

“No, I meant the final roll call is in an hour-forty-five,” Ruby said, turning back to WEiss. “You’re already all dolled up, and well, I’m not, but most folks wouldn’t mind since I’m the Keeper! Do you want to go out and get a really early lunch? Or is it just a _really_ late breakfast at this point?”

Weiss looked at Ruby, and blinked. “Are you… are you asking me out on a date…?”

“Yes.” Ruby said, nodding.

“But… where would we even go…?” Weiss asked, curious.

“Ah, anywhere that isn’t closed, really!” Ruby replied, shrugging. “I’m kind of like a human celebrity here in the Bastion; I step into a restaurant and I don’t have a reservation, they’ll find some way to make sure I get a table for however many guests I brought with me—heck, a lot of them offer to have everything on the house so long as they can talk about my being there on social media!

“I don’t like doing it very much, though, since it usually means someone else who _did_ make a reservation loses their table.”

Weiss frowned. “Yeah, let’s not do that…” she said, shaking her head. “Any other ideas?”

Ruby thought for a moment, before a light bulb went off in her head. “Oh, I’ve got the perfect idea! Come on, Weiss!” she said as she grabbed Weiss hand, and started pulling her towards the elevator.

“Wait, what sort of idea?” Weiss asked as she tried to keep up with her.

“It’s a surprise!” Ruby replied as she pressed the down button. “That’s always a good thing to do for a date, right, Weiss?” she said as she turned to Weiss, beaming.

Weiss scowled, and opened her mouth, before she quickly shut it, and forced herself to at least look and sound neutral as she said, “Generally speaking, yes.”

Oblivious, Ruby nodded happily.

Soon, they were heading out of the Tree of Life, through one of the main streets in the direction of the Trader’s Guild, until Ruby suddenly turned off into a side road. Down they went through a series of winding paths, through alleys and across simple rope bridges, stopping only for Weiss to climb onto Ruby’s back and be carried the rest of the way. The crowds, the hubbub, and the flashy advertising of the city gradually thinned, quieted down, and disappeared, until finally, Ruby stopped and said they were there.

Weiss took a look around her surroundings as she was set back down on her feet.

They were in a quiet, secluded area where the canopy above was particularly thick, making the area quite shady, but not to the point of being gloomy or ominous. With the lack of any permanent buildings, and the only businesses around being food carts, it wasn’t a surprise that most of the moss, fungi, grass, plants and tree branches were left almost entirely untouched, just trimmed back when it crept onto the pathways, blocked the lights, or threatened to take over a sign.

“Where are we?” Weiss asked.

“The Usual Spot!” Ruby replied. “I mean, only I call it that, but no one’s really bothered or agreed to have a single name for this place. Anyway, come on, time’s a-wasting!” she said as she guided Weiss to one of the food carts.

“Yoh!” Ruby said, smiling as she waved at the lone sheep Fae inside.

“Ah, Keeper!” he replied, smiling. “Come back to have another veggie wrap before your long trek out of the walls?” he noticed Weiss, and smiled wider. “Or have you come to introduce your mate to it, also?”

“We’re just dating,” Weiss said.

He kept on smiling. “Of course,” he said, before he bowed. “Maker Yohru, Weaver Schnee, it is an honour to be in your presence, and more so to serve you. Anyway: two wraps?” he asked as he bent back up, used his horns to pull a pair of tongs and a spatula off their hooks and into his hooves.

“Big serving of spiced tea, too!” Ruby said as Yohru put two pieces of flat dough on a grill. “I had to carry Weiss most of the way here, since she can’t really move so much right now.”

“I’ll get right on that,” Yohru said as he kicked some unseen mechanism inside his cart, a tea pot started sliding down a ramp, spouts from above opening up and pouring hot liquids into it. He used his tongs to take some vegetables out of a tray and onto a waiting griddle, before grabbing a tied bundle of fresh herbs and tossing them into the pot just before it passed him by.

“This is an awfully efficient and clever system you’ve got, Maker Yohru,” Weiss said as the pot slid to a stop just before her.

Yohru laughed as he flipped the dough, now perfectly browned and toasted on one side. “My customers may come here to relax and enjoy the slowness, but they don’t pay me to take my time making their food.”

“Fair point.” Weiss said.

Soon, Yohru handed them their wraps wrapped in leaves and their tea in disposable cups made of plant matter, all tied conveniently together with sturdy, ribbon-like grass. Ruby paid and thanked him, before she gestured for Weiss to follow her, away from the carts and where most of the other Fae in the area were lounging, through a curtain of hanging vines, and into a small cove.

“Is this place yours?” Weiss asked as Ruby lit the lamp hanging overhead, sat down on one of the pillows inside.

“Not officially!” Ruby said as she set their food and their drinks down on the floor, gestured to the other pillow. “But, ever since folks noticed I liked hanging out here more than anywhere else, they just kinda all decided this was my spot, so no one else has bothered to use it without my permission.”

“Hence ‘The Usual Spot’?” Weiss asked.

“Yup!” Ruby chirped. “I really like this place, since it’s like being in the Grove without being in the Grove—quiet, secluded, just by myself or a handful of others. Anyway, enough of that—let’s eat, time’s a-wasting!” she untied the ribbon, and grabbed her food. “So, I heard you, Yang, and Pyrrha are joining the Pits as a team! Excited?”

“Sort of,” Weiss replied as she picked up the other veggie wrap, began to peel off the leaf. “I’m not excited to be going back to the Pits, or all the PR work that comes with it, but I certainly _am_ looking forward to getting paid...”

They passed the time eating and talking, until they laid back together and sipped their spiced tea, enjoying the peace and quiet. Soon, Ruby’s comm-crystal was starting to beep with notifications from the expedition forces.

“How long do you have until it’s time to go…?” Weiss asked as she snuggled against Ruby’s side.

“Little over forty minutes...” Ruby replied as she checked her comm-crystal with a frown. A light bulb went in her head, and she set down her cup of tea as a smile spread on her face. “Hey Weiss?”

Weiss looked at her curiously. “Yes…?”

“Do you want to--” Ruby made a sexy animal noise, with a “?” you could hear.

Weiss’ face instantly turned red. “W-What? Like, right here, right now?”

“Yeah, 40 minutes that should be enough time for everything start to finish, if we hurry things up a little bit, right?” Ruby said, nodding.

“Uh, not that I’m against the idea in general, but won’t we get arrested if we’re found out?”

“Nope, not unless we’re being super obvious about it!” Ruby replied.

“How so ‘super obvious?’”

Ruby held up her hand and counted off with her fingers as she said, “In the middle of a busy street during rush hours, on a table at a public restaurant or some other place that doesn’t allow, in the middle of a public performance without a permit...”

“They allow it in public if you have a permit...?” Weiss asked.

“Theater and live-reenactments of movies,” Ruby explained. “Anyway, we don’t really qualify for any of those categories or all the other ones, so I guess that means there’s no big reason we shouldn’t. And I’m game, so… are you game…?” she asked as she gently leaned out, and put a hand on Weiss’ thigh.

“Yes.”

Ruby blinked. “Are you sure?”

Weiss laid her hand on top of Ruby’s, looked her in the eyes, and said, “Ruby, the universe has interrupted or sabotaged us one time too many already; I am seriously pent up; and I sure as _shit_ am not going to let what might be my last opportunity for the next six months pass me by.”

Ruby grinned. “Okay then!”

And so they did.

Their tea had grown cold by the time they were done, Ruby leaning against the wall, her arms around Weiss as laid in her lap, sweating, shaking, and taking slow breaths in and out, streams of magic still faintly coursing and surging all over skin.

“I really have to go, Weiss,” Ruby whispered.

Weiss grumbled softly. “Are you sure?”

“Can’t argue with the evidence, Weiss,” Ruby said, pointing to a the corner with one of her antlers, where her comm-crystal was angrily and audibly flashing and whining even while it was buried underneath her cloak.

Weiss sighed heavily. “Fine… I love you, Ruby. Don’t you _fucking_ dare die out there while you’re busy helping clean up my mess, alright?”

“I love you too, Weiss, and I promise, I won’t,” Ruby said, before she kissed Weiss on the cheek, gently pulled her off her lap and back onto one of the pillows, before she grabbed cloak, and rushed out as fast as she could.

Weiss shielded her eyes from the turbulence, watched the vine curtain swaying and rustling in Ruby’s wake, before she sighed, grabbed her forgotten cup of tea, and held it between her hands, cooling it to a more palatable temperature. “Let’s face it, Weiss,” she muttered to herself, “at this point, you only have yourself to blame for all the heartbreak you keep going through...”


	16. Chapter 16

Meanwhile, back at Candela...

At one of the production plants in the city, soldiers and volunteers lined up around giant conveyor belts and tables, busy packing into boxes foods like energy bars, plant-protein jerky, and nut butters; medications like painkillers, antibiotics, and tranquilizers; and a handful of luxuries like chocolate, cheap liquor, and cigarettes. It was slow going, what with the drones and machines that would usually be in charge of this commandeered for even more laborious tasks elsewhere, but most of them were keen on meeting their quota:

Several _days_ worth of undelivered goods, thanks to numerous delays, mysterious system errors, and other incidents that stole manpower and equipment for one reason or another.

However, a small number of them were helping themselves to “off-the-record compensation,” secreting away some of the goods into their pockets. One such enterprising thief excused herself on break, started to head straight past the makeshift break room on the side…

_Thump._

She staggered back, confused as she looked up at what she’d just walked into; she tensed up as she realized it was really more a question of “who.”

Nick literally looked down on her, and grunted.

“Oh, hey there, Sergeant Rook!” she said, saluting and smiling. “Sorry about that, didn’t see you there—pretty funny, huh?”

Nick grunted in what might have been agreement.

The thief chuckled. “So, I’ll just be going now…!”

Nick did not move, and neither did she.

“… Did you need something from me, Sarge…?”

Nick held out his hand, and made a “Give it to me.” gesture.

“Afraid I don’t know what you’re looking for, Sarge, unless it’s a down low!” the thief said, laughing as she playfully held out her hand.

Nick’s eyes slowly narrowed.

“Come on, Sarge, look at me!” the thief said, holding out her hands, palms facing forward. “Completely empty handed! Does it _look_ like I’m carrying anything on me…?”

Nick snorted threateningly.

The thief slowly, carefully reached into the secret pockets of her uniform, and pulled out several energy bars, before placing them into Nick’s hands.

He kept on glaring at her.

The thief reached into her _other_ discrete pockets, pulled out a handful of blister packs of tranquilizers, and placed them on top of the bars.

Nick snorted again, softly this time.

The thief pulled out a keycard on some colourful string. “Apartment,” she said, jiggling it.

Nick nodded, gently wrapped his fingers around the stolen goods, and lumbered on past her, dropping them off into one the gigantic bins at the end of the conveyor belts, before he started to slowly make his way up and down each of the lines. More and more thieves were either caught in the act, or politely taken away and relieved of all their stolen goods, until the ones who hadn’t been caught decided to start putting them back into the boxes or onto the conveyor belts before they felt a looming, ominous presence over them, and a ham-sized hand gently patting them on their shoulders.

The packaging went _much_ faster after that, both for the thefts stopping and everyone in general suddenly becoming _very_ enthusiastic about their duties.

Soon, the boxes were all packed into the delivery trucks, and caravans began to roll out to different districts of the city. At least two troop transports escorting each one, the soldiers inside armed with the likes of shotguns, assault rifles, and live ammo.

“Make sure all of these deliveries get to their destinations on time, in one piece, or with as few delays and as little damages as possible,” said a field commander during the debrief earlier that day. “The people have been losing faith in us and the government in general since the Eve, and one more day of delayed or crippled relief operations could permanently erase what little trust they have left.

“If they think we can’t save them, then I assure you they won’t hesitate to go to the first person who promises to pick up the slack, whoever they are.”

The caravan Nick was in—C12—was headed into the lower income districts, bordering on the “Dark Side” of Candela.

The streets were almost completely deserted, the neon lights and garish holos that adorned the faces of buildings and shops dark, leaving the damage, the grime, and the vandalism more obvious than ever. Trash and leftover decorations from the Eve still littered the streets from most of the sanitation drones and workers busy trying to keep the evacuation centers clean and habitable. What few souls dared break the lockdown orders were out dressed in feature-concealing clothes, scavenging from the trash, disappearing into alleys and abandoned buildings as soon as they noticed the military transports.

“Stars, was this whole district hit that badly?” one of the younger recruits asked as she gazed out the camera feeds. “I thought brass was just overreacting, sending all of us with this much gear, but now I’m not so sure...”

“Distribution centers here have been out of food for days now, among other issues,” one of the captains said dryly.

“Don’t they still have plenty of nutriblocks?” the recruit asked, confused.

“You haven’t been out in any extended mission far out in the Country, have you?” the captain asked back.

Before the recruit could reply, their transport suddenly began to slow to a stop. The rest of the caravan followed suit. Calls from the other troop transports and civilian vehicles started to come in, Nick and the captain looked out the front window, told them what had stopped the convoy:

A road barrier of metal posts and glowing walls, a lone traffic drone standing in the middle of it with all the usual notices projecting from it, only all the ID numbers and other details were showing up as “CONNECTION ERROR.”

Nick and the captain shared a look, before the latter called up HQ. “Central, this is C12, we’ve got a roadblock at Coltrane Avenue, no advance notice, no human personnel, one traffic drone. Requesting info, over.”

“ _C12, no records of roadblock at location. Orders unchanged, attempting remote bypass now, over.”_

“Roger that, Central, C12 out.” the captain said, before he and Nick waited.

The barrier walls continued to glow and occasionally flicker, the text on them continued to scroll, the drone continued to hover in place with the same signs projecting from it.

“ _C12, remote bypass failed. Standby, uploading new routes to your destination...”_

Explosives started raining down on them before the convoy could start moving again.

The troop transports’ energy shields went up too late as strange, foamy goop started to spread all over the hulls. The soldiers began to grab their weapons and launch out of their seats, panicked screaming erupted from the civilian transports, alarms began to flash and whine all over the convoy.

“Central, C12 is being ambushed by unknown assailants!” the captain cried. “All troop transports have been hit with explosives—hulls seems undamaged, but the chemical payload is spreading out _fast!_ We need orders now, over!”

Windows on the surrounding buildings shattered, metal hooks started flying out and latching onto the trucks, poles extending upwards before solid beams of mana shot back out to the windows. Hooded and helmeted raiders started zipping down them to the top of the trucks, before they whipped out the tools on their harnesses and started cutting the roofs open.

“Central, hostiles are on the delivery trucks! They’re raiding the supplies, over!”

“ _C12, you are now authorized to engage hostiles, all non-lethal tactics! Priority to recovering and securing supplies, escalate as field officers deem necessary, over!”_

“Roger willco, C12 out!” the captain cried. “System: we’re deploying!”

“ _Orders received,”_ the AI hummed. _“_ _L_ _owering shields and opening_ _hatch_ _.”_

All the soldiers prepared themselves as the hatch began to open, before its servos whined and jerked back and forth, barely open a crack, the mysterious goop holding it down.

“ _Error: physical obstruction detected. Attempting automated removal...”_

“Damn it, they’ve locked us in!” one of the soldiers.

“Like _hell_ they have!” the captain cried. “Everyone: get that hatch open!”

The bulkiest and strongest of the squad put their backs to the hatch and pushed, the rest pulled their tools and tried to remove the goo. They pushed and pried, but they couldn’t get it open more than an inch before the resistance became too strong.

Nick groaned in frustration and pulled away from the group.

“Sgt. Rook, what are you doing?!” the captain asked as he walked to the front of the transport.

Nick didn’t reply as he reached the very edge, turned around, and lowered his head.

Realization came over the captain’s face, he turned to the others. “All units: make way for Rook!”

The soldiers didn’t hesitate to press themselves to the sides and make a straight line between Nick and the hatch. With a roar that nearly deafened everyone inside, he charged, and slammed his helmeted head into the door!

_BAM!_

The transport rocked and the hatch flew open a good few inches, the raider guard watching over it flinched. _“Holy_ _crap_ _!”_ he cried. “I think they’re trying to break out!”

“No shit, Sherlock!” said one of the raiders busy looting the trucks, loading them on the overhead conveyor they’d turned their mana beams into.

“No, no, I meant they might _actually_ break out!” the guard replied, before the transport violently rocked again.

“Yeah, when we’re long gone! Just keep an eye out for _actual_ threats, like reinforcements!”

Back inside the transport, the soldiers were all rooting and cheering for Nick, if they weren’t helping keep the hatch pried open and the goo from erasing all his hard work. Sweating, heaving, and _pissed off_ , he roared again before he barreled towards the hatch one more time!

BAM!

The hatch flew open by a foot, Nick and the other soldiers wedged themselves into the gap, widening it enough for the smaller among the squad to start crawling out onto the street.

The guard freaked out. “We got trouble!”

“What?!” the looter cried as she held a box in her hands. “Reinforcements are already here!?”

“No, one of the transports broke out!” the guard replied.

The looter scowled, about to snap at him, until warning shots and shouting started to fill the air. “FUCK!” she cried, dropping the box and activating her comm-crystal. “Jackal 2, get down here! 3, get out with what you have!”

More raiders started to zip down to the streets and the roofs of the trucks, and began to clash with the soldiers. The soldiers didn’t think much of their weapons, common hardware with some obvious modifications on them, until blasts of searing hot plasma started melting their batons and their armour, circular blades spun at blinding speed and cut through whatever it touched even faster, and seismic generators and miniature force-fields made even glancing blows land with _devastating_ force.

Soldiers began to retreat nursing serious wounds and broken weapons, if they hadn’t been sent flying off the trucks and crashing onto the street.

“HQ, we’re getting _slaughtered_ out here!” one of the support soldiers cried as she broadcast the footage from her surveillance drone. “We need reinforcements, over!”

“Negative, C12, no forces available, over!”

“WHAT?!”

“Other urgent incidents have been erupting in the other sectors, C12! Escalate to live ammo, and prioritize defending casualties and civilians for the time being, over!”

“ _What the hell do you expect us to--”_

_Crunch!_

The stuck hatch was ripped right off, with help from combat engineers standing outside with plasma cutters. Nick and the rest of the squadron poured out onto the street, whipping out their guns, turning off safeties or switching to lethal modes.

“Open fire!” the captain cried, before gunfire filled the air.

The raiders began to run, pulling up shields and running for cover. Nick and a handful of other soldiers broke off, sprinting up the streets to catch up with them, until the raiders pulled out their own guns and returned fire.

Rivets and nails flew through the air, impaling themselves into armour or unfortunate soldiers. Balls of shrapnel flew out, held together by a magnetic field before it failed and sent them flying everywhere at high speeds. Soldiers shouted and pointed as the raiders started throwing out canisters at them, noxious, blinding smoke quickly spilling out.

Nick charged on straight through the toxic cloud even as the raiders continued to fire, ignoring his injuries. He burst out of the smog, running straight into a raider standing outside of it, holding a modified plasma cutter with an extra fuel cell slotted into it.

The raider pulled the trigger, a ball of scorching hot plasma shot out and exploded on Nick.

Nick’s whole body burst into flames, he still kept on going.

The raider with the plasma cutter stared at the fiery demon from Hell barreling down on him, before it quickly slammed into him and knocked him down to the ground. Surprised and terrified, the other raiders didn’t think to run or open fire until Nick had already shot several of them with his AR.

The surviving raiders broke into a run, blindly firing behind them as they disappeared into the buildings, or dove straight into the sewer system’s maintenance shafts. Nick dropped his fast melting gun, before he dropped to the ground, and started rolling. The other soldiers quickly rushed to his aid, helping put him out, and apprehending the injured raiders left behind before they could fire off any more shots.

The operators back at Central watched the broadcast footage with dumbfounded, impressed, and intimidated expressions. “Hey, does anyone know exactly _where_ Rook was deployed before he got here…?” one of them asked.


	17. Chapter 17

Soldiers lined both sides of the AFA’s ward, nursing injuries too serious for the mechanical or human doctors to heal just like that, or suffering from the long-term effects of the poison gas grenades. Bandages, casts, and vomit buckets abounded, hospital staff and drones trying to care for them, with volunteers helping pick up the slack.

Freya was among them, conversing with and performing simple tasks for the patients, those who were members of the Church of the Holy Shepherd especially. She mostly read passages from her pocket-sized Piper’s Logs, but for others, she held their hands, or laid hers on their chests, discretely channeling her magic to reduce the swelling in an injured limb, help keep from vomiting again, or cool their blazing hot fevers by a few degrees.

There was so much more she could do for their symptoms and sicknesses, she knew, but unfortunately, an elderly shiphand miraculously healing scores of bedridden soldiers was just too suspicious.

She was reading a passage a soldier a requested when one of the nurses on duty touched her shoulder, and another shiphand offered to continue reading for her. “Is something the matter?” Freya asked.

“Nothing serious or urgent, Sister, we just _really_ need you specifically,” the nurse replied, his and the other shiphand’s expressions silently pleading. “I can explain later, in the hall.”

Freya agreed, and the nurse led her out of the ward, where it was relatively more peaceful. “So what is it that you need me for?” Freya asked.

“It’s about Sgt. Rook,” the nurse replied, rubbing the back of his head. “We were wondering if you could go check up on him for us. After we got him out of surgery, it’s only been the med-drones that have been into his room, and I’m sure you know how important human interaction is to the healing process.”

“Tend the soul as well as the body, yes,” Freya said, nodding sagely. “So why hasn’t he had any visitors? Is the hospital really that overwhelmed?”

“Oh, no, it’s not that we don’t have the people available and willing, it’s just that… well… we can’t get them to stay for very long...” the nurse replied, sheepishly putting the tips of his index fingers together.

“Pardon me?”

“We’ve had _very_ consistent reports that Sgt. Rook is making it _abundantly_ clear he wishes to be left alone—not verbally, but ah, a man like him doesn’t need words to get his message across,” the nurse replied. “I know we should respect the patient’s wishes and all that, but the psychologists are really worried he’s repressing his emotions—and with how intense that ambush was, and him having almost burned to death out there, we’re concerned that could do even more serious damage to his health.

“You… seem to know him pretty well, at least, and all the other people that know him too are busy, tried and failed, or refused already, so we figure, how about we try sending you in, before we try a therapy bot or a plush toy?”

Freya nodded. “This seems like quite a lot of effort for just one soldier—wouldn’t someone raise a fuss about preferential treatment?”

The nurse snorted. “To be fair, it’s not like anyone will argue he doesn’t deserve it! I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Sgt. Rook is something of a celebrity now; if he hadn’t helped keep our delivery from being picked clean like some of the others, this whole district would be in even _worse_ shape than it already is.

“Anyway, even if he doesn’t return to the field any time soon, it’ll do morale good knowing he’s being taken care of, you know? So, will you do it?”

Freya put her hand to her chest. “As Piper said, ‘I can offer no guarantees, except that I will try my best.’”

The nurse sighed in relief, raised his head and muttered a quick prayer to some higher power/s, before he turned back to Freya, and said, “Thank you, Sister.”

“You are welcome.” Freya replied. “Now, where exactly is his room?”

“Right this way!” the nurse said, smiling as he led Freya there.

“Couldn’t you just give me the directions on my comm-crystal, or get a drone to lead the way?” Freya asked as they walked. “It seems wasteful, especially with how many others are in need.”

“We’re just concerned for your health too, Sister!” the nurse replied. “Ah, some of the people we sent in came out quite shaken, and we feel it’s for the best if there was a trained nurse on hand.”

Freya nodded, and they spent the rest of the trip talking about some details of “Sgt. Rook’s” stay, until they were right outside his door. “Good luck, Sister!” the nurse said as he unlocked the door with his keycard. “Forgive me if I don’t open the door for you, it’s just—well, you’ll find out...”

Freya looked at him in concern and curiosity, before she reached up and pushed the door open. Almost immediately, a dark, intimidating aura started to seep out, so intense one might wonder where the purple-black miasma was. She hesitated for a moment, before she stepped in, and closed the door behind her.

Outside, the nurse sighed, and quietly wondered if letting Freya in by herself counted as negligence.

Inside, Freya pulled out her pocketbook of Piper’s Logs, and ran her finger down a certain page; the magic woven into it activated, and sent out a discrete pulse, feeding an illusion to any hidden surveillance equipment that may or may not have been in the room. Freya pretended to read for a few moments, until she shut the book, slipped it back into her pocket, and calmly climbed up to the side of Nick’s bed.

“How are you feeling, Nick?” Freya asked, looking at him warmly,  gently putting her hands on his bandaged forearm.

“Eh, been worse,” Nick replied through the  face  mask feeding him oxygen. “I feel bad for taking up all this space and supplies, but I guess we’d all be worse off if  I miraculously walked off  _being on fire._

“ How about you, Frosty?”

Freya smiled. “Nicholas, if it were not for the nature of my cover, I would be _personally_ interrogating the prisoners until they gave me the names and the locations of the individuals responsible for this, murdering them, and then summarily hunting down every single one of the other raiders that managed to escape your squadron’s wrath,” she said sweetly.

“ _Easy_ now, Freya: we need to let them keep popping their heads out for a while, otherwise we won’t know where they’re coming from.”

“ _I know that_ , but whoever these are—the Heralds, the Darksiders, or some forsaken union of the two—they’re pissing me the fuck off!” Freya said, her eyes narrowing. “It used to be that sabotage, covert operations, and guerrilla warfare had to have grace, subtlety, and a touch of _artistry_ to it, but these motherfuckers are taking sledgehammers and high explosives to _everything_ , and I swear by the Eldan, they are laughing their asses off as we try to fix crude magical sabotage in the most roundabout ways possible!

“These are some of the most _brazen_ attention whores I have ever seen, and I don’t know what worries me more: that they are so suicidally overconfident, or that they actually have good reason to be that way!”

She sighed heavily, her features falling. “Is the paradigm of Seeker operations changing right before my eyes, to heights of Shock and Awe we’ve never seen before? Are we facing a threat that believes itself so powerful and capable they can operate in broad daylight with impunity? Or am I just getting really, _really_ old…?”

“Probably; maybe, maybe not, they could just be a really loud minority of asshats; and yes, but only as a matter of biological fact,” Nick replied. “You know how it is with you Fae: the older something’s lasted, the better it is objectively, and you are most _definitely_ not an exception.”

Freya blushed, before she hung her head. “Something about this whole business just feels so horribly, significantly different to me, Nick, in the worst way possible...”

Nick carefully raised one bandaged hand, and patted Freya on the head, right between where her ears were hidden underneath her hair and her hat. “Freya, I’ve beaten Cinder’s plans once, I’ve helped cleaned up Jacques’ _first_ major fuck-up in Sekhmet and part of his second in the Valley, and I’ve done every last job the Eldan Council has given me, all within the crappy conditions they set.

“I am _pretty_ damn sure if everything they could throw at me, or send my way couldn’t stop me, then very, _very_ , **very** few things in this realm can.”

Freya lifted her head up and smiled. “Age has only made your head even harder, hasn’t it, Nick?”

“Damn straight it has,” Nick said as he took his hand back.

“So, do you want to actually unload anything on me?” Freya asked.

“Nah,” Nick said. “I’m going to get all the catharsis I need when I tango with those motherfuckers again.”

“Would you like to shorten your recovery, so you can get to it sooner?” Freya asked, holding up her hands, briefly channeling her magic through both.

“Sure, why not?” Nick said, smirking.

Half-an-hour later, Freya emerged from the room; the miasma had weakened significantly, as did she as she slowly shuffled back out to the hall and gripped the door for support.

“Are you okay, Sister?” said the nurse from earlier as he reached out to help her.

“Aye,” Freya whispered. “His is a deep, quiet suffering, but the words of the Shepherd gave me the strength to help him bear it, too.”

The nurse dared to peer into the room; Sgt. Rook seemed to be sleeping peacefully, even if he still emanated the aura of a particularly large and intimidating guard dog at rest. The nurse quietly stepped out and shut the door as gently as he could, before he turned to Freya and said, “You are a _miracle worker,_ Sister.”

Freya blushed and waved him off. “Please! I am but one of many conduits for the grace and the blessings of the Shepherd. Also, I really rather would appreciate an escort to wherever I can rest.”

“Right away, Sister!” the nurse said, taking one of Freya’s hands and leading her off. “Say, Sister, I know this is probably a little too much to ask, but do you think you could visit Sgt. Rook again? Until he recovers, at least.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to see if there are any other shiphands who are willing and able?” Freya asked.

“I’ll be honest, the list was basically just you and a handful of other people by this point, we don’t really have much choice,” the nurse replied. “Don’t think we expect you to do it for nothing, by the way! We’re more than willing to make it worth your while—favours, luxuries, privileges, you name it, we’ll try and get it.”

Freya slowed down and pursed her lip, thinking about it for a good long while, before she said, “I will consider it. But I am old, and only one person, so I might ask for quite more than if I were much younger, with someone to share the burden with.”

“Just name your price, Sister, and we’ll negotiate from there,” the nurse replied.

Freya nodded. “Well, if you’re so eager...” she muttered.

So it was that Freya was officially assigned to check up on Nick at least once a day, for an hour each time. The soldiers and the rest of the hospital staff often wondered just what sort of ordeals Freya had gone through, how she managed to survive the full hour, always shaken and tired as she stepped out, but they rarely hesitated to get her what she had asked for in exchange.

“Don’t you think this is a little selfish, Frosty?” Nick had asked her during one such visit.

“Oh, hush you,” Frosty said as she snuggled up in the crook of his arm, channeling her magic into his body with one hand as the other carefully broke off pieces from a chocolate bar. “This is an _excellent_ source of information and resources for ourselves and the rest of our network, not to mention it’s giving me a much needed break from all the chaos outside this door.”

“So you’re not abusing the good will of the people, you’re just providing assets, and keeping yourself at peak efficiency?” Nick asked sarcastically.

“Exactly!” Freya hummed, before she popped another piece of cheap chocolate into her mouth.


	18. Chapter 18

The days passed, the relief efforts continued to suffer. If new supply convoys didn’t need to be armed to the teeth and staffed with as many combat drones and soldiers as were available, they had to use more secure, but even more expensive and less efficient means, such as flying taxis or cargo ships. And even then, unrest in the evacuation centers was growing once again, as certain districts found themselves regularly stocked, while others had to constantly face scarcities or being completely out of certain commodities, like medicines for rare conditions.

More soldiers and supplies had been flown in from everywhere else in Heartland, but the mysterious hostiles seemed to be getting reinforcements, too. There were reports of people ignoring the lockdown and moving back into their homes and other communities, or trying to get themselves smuggled out of the city. And of course, the refugees who could neither volunteer for the armed forces, and were all but stranded in the evacuation centers didn’t hesitate to make their displeasure known.

“Give us the food, you bastards!”

“We know you’re hoarding it all for the rich!”

“Please, help us! We’re _dying_ out here!”

An unopened nutriblock bounced off one of the guard towers, one of the soldiers there didn’t even flinch.

“Have you considered firing a few warning shots, private?” asked the sergeant standing beside her, gazing out at the sea of angry refugees standing just outside the walls.

“With all due respect, ma’am, they only work if the targets are afraid of getting shot in the first place,” the private replied.

Inside the compound, there was a different crowd in an uproar, in one of the briefing rooms. “Calm down, _calm down!”_ said the general on the stage, drones and their assistants trying and failing to pacify the crowd. “Please, _just let us explai--”_

One pair of doors were pulled open, heads turned, people suddenly fell quiet, or exploded into renewed furor. Nick raised his scarred hands and slowly swept them over the crowds, the whole room soon went quiet. Even the general was silent, until Nick looked pointedly at them.

“Sgt. Rook! Welcome back; I’m afraid I hadn’t received the notice that you had resumed active duty.”

Nick grunted, before he found a spot at the back and stood at rest.

“As I was saying: please let us explain,” the general continued. “We are well aware that this could be a massive trap. But unfortunately, we have no choice but to spring it. Already, the information about this possible supply cache has been leaked to the public. If it _is_ a setup, and some militia or intrepid explorer tries to retrieve it themselves, we’ll have to add civilian casualties and a possible hostage situation to our list of problems. If it’s not a setup, and the enemy manages to secure it again, then not only will they have recovered an asset, but the civilians will also know we chose to do nothing amidst the scarcities and disrupted supply lines.

“However, know that we are _not_ sending you out like sacrificial pawns, because in spite of everything going on all over the realm, _nothing_ stops the march of R&D...”

“Its codename is ‘Argus!’” one of the R&D engineers said as drones and robotic arms put Nick in a special full-body suit and helmet. “Raw output of a BADAAS, systems and efficiency of the Mk III, and speed and agility surpassing both! Not quite the next step we all thought and wanted the Shepherd Suit series to take, but it’s what we’ve had to make do with.

“Kind of like how I imagine how you and your platoons operated back in the Country, eh, Sarge?” the engineer said, laughing and elbowing Nick in the side.

Nick just grunted as his helmet and armour was sealed, air rushing out from around his neck. The machines started to pull away, he lumbered forward and into the open cockpit of the Argus, grabbing onto the controls, the safety harnesses and features locking into place all around him. The engineer stepped back as the walkway began to recede, the Argus began to light up and move.

“You okay in there, Sarge?” one of the operators at the control panel asked.

Nick grunted in affirmative.

“Alright: beginning systems checks and calibration tests now...”

A little over twelve hours later, the Argus finished its last set before it was due for its first real mission. Alongside the rest of the obvious AFA presence moving out in troop transports, Nick was hiding in one of the delivery trucks, for the size of his rig, and the equipment they were bringing along.

Just outside of the staging area, a group of shiphands were praying for their success, Freya among them; as discretely as they could, she and Nick shared a look and silent well wishes, before he disappeared into the truck.

Less than a minute later, he was stepping out again, drones summoned to take out, then rearrange the crates of ammunition, explosives, and other gear they were taking with them, the Argus’ massive weapons especially.

“The hell are some of those things?” asked one of the soldiers on stand-by.

“Last I heard, weaponized industrial equipment—you know, giant tractor beams for cargo, plasma cutters, a mana-inducer, and the like,” another soldier replied.

“So we’re copying the enemy’s tactics now?”

“Well, we can’t argue it won’t work…”

“Fair enough.”

The cargo and Nick were packed in more efficiently, and the convoy finally started to roll off, deep into the heart of the Dark Side of Candela.

Their destination was an underground parking lot. _“The place has been condemned for months going on a year now, but a combination of corruption, it being_ _one the newer_ _hub_ _s_ _of illegal business, and all the other problems_ _plaguing the city in general have kept the Peacekeepers and Infra from mounting a strong enough offensive_ _to_ _drive the squatters out for good,”_ their major said as they neared the location.

“ _Keep your wits about you, both for another possible ambush, and just the structural integrity in general; if our intel from before the Eve was anything to go by, the risk of getting killed by falling objects, or irradiated to death from exposed power lines was part of ‘the charm.’”_

Nick  stayed  hidden inside the truck, to save on power, and  keep the element of surprise , but the live feeds he was getting from everyone else’s surveillance drones,  and helmet and body cameras gave him a pretty good idea of what lay just outside:

Scrap metal, wooden  planks , and polymer  sheets  covering holes, bridging dangerous gaps,  and attempting to reinforce the concrete and metal pillars . Graffiti, posters and ads for underground events, and either the wilted remains of someone’s biorganic project, or  thriving organic matter threatening to overgrow its territory.  Conspicuous lack of boxes and goods from all the clean sections of floor amidst piles of dust and filth; doors  and hidden caches  left swinging open with their locks disengaged or shattered;  couches, beds, and the odd audience stands left conspicuously empty.

“Piper, it’s a miracle this place hasn’t caved already...”  one of the soldiers said as his squad stepped around a crumbling section of  floor .

“Maybe the admin had the right idea leaving this place alone: it might just finally collapse all on its own, now that no one’s keeping it up,” said another.

“I’d knock on some sturdy looking wood, if I were you,” a third said,  all of their minimaps flashing  alongside an  image :  a giant collection of the stolen supplies, in the very deepest part  of the building.

The major didn’t hesitate: “Two full sweeps of the entire complex. Perimeter alarms on every single possible entrance, at least two guards each, covering each other’s backs. Engineers, sweep the ground, I want details on any sort of hidden tunnels or entrances we may have missed. The rest of you, form a perimeter around the goods—we’re going to do one last check to see if this isn’t all some sort of trap.”

One long, tedious hour later, there was a lone drone being sent out to the piles and piles of supply crates, while its handler and the rest of the troops hid behind cover, guns out and fingers on the triggers. Even Nick found himself beginning to sweat as the drone began to scan the cargo, pry open some of them, sift through the contents, and double check if there was anything done to the containers themselves.

A wave of relief went through the troops as the results came out clean, except for one detail: “Biological organism detected. Estimated mass similar to fully-sized adult, probably male biologically. However, vital signs all null.”

“Looks like we’ve got a dead guy underneath all this, everyone,” the drone operator said. “Probably _super_ recent, or bagged up pretty good, we can’t tell until we actually find him.”

“We’ll deal with that _if_ we find them, soldier; for now, everyone available start moving boxes,” the major said.

Everyone aside from the guards and Nick started to grab crates, hauling them out on carts or carrying them in their arms, slowly and carefully maneuvering their way back up the complex. If the makeshift bridges and the cracked and holey floors were unstable earlier, they seemed on the verge of collapsing now from all the extra weight, forcing them to break apart in small groups, or use the drones to help reduce the burden on the ground, slowing progress down to a snail’s pace.

“It never is as easy as it looks, is it, ma’am?” one of the privates asked as he stood at the bottom with most of the goods.

“It always is, private,” the major replied as they stood at the top floor, monitoring the camera and security feeds. “Be in the service for a long enough while, and you start to plan for and expect curve balls wherever you go.”

It was then that the whole complex started to shake.

Pillars buckled, the concrete started to break apart and crumble, soldiers screamed as they fell through the floor, were crushed by falling debris, or fell prey to other hazards. The ground where the transports and the trucks were started to break, Nick couldn’t activate the Argus’ servos before the truck he was in went falling, crashing through the floors of the complex, him and his equipment tumbling and colliding into each other, the walls of the truck denting and groaning, his emergency shields going at max output.

The truck landed on exposed neosteel rebars, piercing through the metal, nearly impaling Nick if it wasn’t for his shields; the translucent energy crackled and flashed as it tried to push back against the debris crushing down on him, Nick got the servos working, and dug himself out from under the rubble.

He emerged to the sound of dying and screaming, crumbling rocks and twisting metal, maniacal laughter. The giant stacks of supply crates had been toppled, blown apart and their contents scattered all around or destroyed, what _looked_ like a human standing in the center of it all, hands and feet glowing as he pressed them down on the ground, magical tremours erupting all around him.

“We will bury you, fools and traitors!” he screamed. “This city will crumble, its ruins will be your grave!”

Nick activated his weapons systems, the emergency cannons on his arms popped out; the aiming reticle jerked and swerved wildly, his energy blasts flew even more unpredictably, hitting rock, the side of an upturned troop transport, and an exposed power-line until it finally struck home.

The earth weaver reeled from the blast, the tremours began to weaken; Nick kept on firing, more and more shots landing as the ground began to stabilize, the earth weaver curled up into a ball, his whole body turning metallic, an aura around him deflecting or absorbing the shots.

Nick activated his rear cameras, twisted the Argus’ arms and grabbed two of his weapons sticking out from the wreckage.

The weaver dropped his guard, and slammed his hands into the dirt, waves of shifting earth coming towards Nick.

They hit him before he could jump out of the way, the ground beneath him liquefied, before sharp spikes shot into the Argus’ legs, and trapped him.

Nick thrust out his weapons and pulled their triggers, his eyes widened as he realized he’d picked up a plasma cutter and a tractor beam, and the weaver was well out of range of either. He scowled and lowered his arms, the weaver smiled and laughed.

“So, you thought throwing another fancy new toy into the fray would help you, eh?” the weaver asked as he got up on his feet. “I thought you would have learned with what happened to your precious Mk IV, but then again, I suppose that’s the thing with you humans: you always keep making the same old mistakes.”

Nick bit his tongue, and shut off an alarm in the corner, the one telling him his squad’s emergency distress signal had failed to start.

“I’ll tell you what: I’ll give you a chance to fight for your life,” the weaver said as he held out his arms, metal and concrete began to fly towards him then orbit around him. “If nothing else, the footage we’ll salvage from your corpse will show you all just what you’re dealing with.”

The weaver burst into another round of mad laughter as the debris around him started to smash into one another, violently reshaped and fused together, pulses of purple mana rippling across their surfaces as the weaver turned them into his own massive suit of armour. He grabbed a fallen troop transport, and ripped it in half.

_Crunch!_

He slammed them together between his fists, the materials and magitech melted, fused, and transformed into crude boxing gloves. The weaver punched them together twice with thunderous clangs, before he said, “Let’s get this fight started now, shall we?”

The weaver started thundering towards Nick, hetried to wrench the Argus’ legs free.

_Crash!_

The weaver hit Nick with a haymaker, the Argus went flying, and slammed into a wall. Nick managed to climb out of the new crater, saw the weaver already running towards him again, aiming for an overhead smash. He scowled, calmly turned off the numerous flashing holos telling him just how many things had gone wrong in the past five minutes, before he raised his weapons, and waited.

The weaver brought both his fists down, Nick raised his tractor beam at full power, it made the strike glance off that arm and the armour on the side. He thrust his plasma cutter at the weaver, his momentum sent the searing edge straight across and into his armour’s main mass, almost forcing himself onto its cutting edge.

Nick watched as the lines of energy on the armour dramatically weakened as the weaver stopped entirely, before he launched himself backwards. He levitated some nearby debris to patch the molten gash, giving Nick more than enough time to right himself.

“Don’t think your luck has turned, soft-skin!” the weaver said as the two of them began to slowly circle each other, debris still raining down from above, exposed utility lines leaking and sparking, surrounded by twisted wreckage and cooling corpses. “This fight has only just begun!”

Nick just grunted, before he grabbed the delivery truck behind him, and hurled it at the weaver!

The weaver raised his fists, effortlessly catching the truck and throwing it up over his shoulders, and behind him. He was about to taunt Nick, until he saw him blasting towards him with the Argus’ thrusters, his plasma cutter blazing bright.

_Fzzshhht!_

Nick cut another glowing line across the weaver’s chest, then another, and another, hacking and melting away at the layers of metal and rock, as quickly as the Argus’ servos could move!

The weaver frantically punched back, his magic rippling out and disrupting Nick’senergy shields, his strikes warping and severely damaging the metal underneath, his own armour hardening as he tried to block and redirect the plasma cutter.

_Clang!_

The weaver blocked one of Nick’s slashes with both his arms, the mana lines on his arms grew brighter, as the ones on his legs surged into the ground. The earth beneath the Argus’ feet crumbled and liquefied, the weaver shoved Nick and sent him staggering back.

Nick struggled to regain his footing, flailing his arms as the Argus AI tried to transfer what power it had left to its stabilizers.

The weaver fell to his knees, the armour around his legs fell apart; he pulled his arm back, concentrated his magic, before he punched and sent his fist flying like a missile.

_Crunch!_

It struck dead-center and blew a hole in the hull, straight through to the cockpit, Nick reeling as he was almost hit by its knuckles. He pulled it out with the tractor beam, he could see the weaver running towards him through the hole, screaming as he wound up his armoured arm for a punch.

_Clash!_

Nick intercepted him with the plasma cutter, the weaver slammed his bare hand down on it, and snapped off a good chunk of it. The controlled beam turned into an out-of-control jet of blazing plasma, Nick threw it aside as it started to melt and fracture.

The weaver launched himself onto the hole on the cockpit, slammed his feet into the sides and wrenched it open even further. He grabbed Nick with his bare hand, and yanked him out by his neck; the two of them locked eyes for a moment, before the weaver tossed Nick aside, sending him rolling and tumbling across the ground.

Nick stopped sprawled out on his back, watching as the weaver smashed the Argus with his armoured fist, until both of them were crumpled, twisted heaps of scrap metal left abandoned on the ground. The weaver hunched over the wreckage, heaving and sweating, before he pulled his head back and laughed.

“Woops!” he cried hoarsely. “Looks like I broke your fancy new toy!” he said as he staggered towards Nick, laughing, coughing, and heaving for breath. “What are you going to do now, soft-skin?!” he taunted as he looked down on Nick, grinning menacingly.

Nick replied by pulling out one of his emergency combat knives, and stabbing the weaver in the ankle.

He cried out in surprise, Nick pulled him down to the ground before he whipped out his other knife, and stabbed him in the shoulder with it. The weaver hardened his skin there, the blade sinking in barely half-an-inch deep. He grinned in victory, until Nick clambered up to his feet, grabbed the handle and the weaver’s shoulder, and started dragging him off to the side.

The weaver buried his heels into the ground, shifting the earth under their feet, leaving a trail of twin gouges in the dirt as Nick only sped up. He frantically jerked his head about, trying to see what was around them, what Nick was trying to do.

He noticed the sparking, glowing power cables just before Nick smashed his face into it.

The weaver screamed and howled as magic surged into his body, lines on his skin and his eyes glowing so bright it was blinding, his limbs jerking and flailing about uncontrollably. He buried his feet into the ground, started elbowing Nick in the ribs as he struggled to break free. Nick ignored the pain, the feeling of his bones starting to break, kept on holding the weaver to the power line until the both of them finally overloaded.

The wire shorted-out, Nick was thrown back as tremours started to erupt from the weaver once more, the ground exploded up around him. Metal and rocks flew towards him, flying about uncontrollably in his orbit, smashing into each other, rapidly disintegrating back into their most basic components. The weaver staggered back, beams of purple magic shooting out of his eyes, the lines over his skin rapidly spreading till his whole form was one massive, writhing mass of pure mana.

He turned his head skyward, let out one final, agonized scream before he exploded.

_Boom._

Every listening post in the area went wild as a massive seismic blast came from the Dark Side, the satellite imaging AIs sounded the alarm as a district there suddenly became a massive, gaping, radioactive crater...


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We now return to your regularly scheduled screwing with Weiss for fun.

“… _As every city-state in Heartland struggles with the sudden and dramatic influx of refugees from Candela; the armed forces ready to deploy and reassign a record number of both active and reserve personnel there; and the enemy’s weapons and magitech proves_ far _more advanced and dangerous than previously known, the whole realm can’t help but ask:_

“ _Have we opened yet another Pandora’s Box? And more importantly, will we be able to close it once again, as we have done for others like the Sekhmet Scourge?_

“ _Both the AFA and the Church of the Holy Shepherd assure the public of their preparedness to face and end this new threat--”_

_Ka-chik._

Pyrrha looked up, the holo she was watching automatically paused.

Weiss sighed as she stepped out of the main house’s bathroom and back into the kitchen, freshened up and in new clothes. “Bathroom’s free if you need it!” she said as she walked over to the fridge, and grabbed a bottle of milk. “Sorry for taking so long, there was some gunk underneath my fingernails that just would _not_ come off...” she grumbled as she headed to the table, and took a seat beside Pyrrha.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Pyrrha said, waving her off and dismissing one of the “earphones” hovering by her head. “Your training today was quite a lot messier than mine, anyway.”

“You can say that again...” Weiss grumbled as she twisted the cap open. “So, what’re you watching?” she said, glancing at Pyrrha’s paused holo.

“Oh, just some international news, is all,” Pyrrha replied. “Force of habit, I was always expected to keep on top of every little thing happening in the realm.”

Weiss nodded. “Anything worth sharing? I haven’t had the time nor the desire to check on almost anynews from outside the Valley since I started staying here full-time,” she said, before she took a long drink of her milk.

Pyrrha looked back down at the holo, it resumed playing.

“ _\--but doubt and disillusionment among the people grows, especially with the defection of the current Holy Shepherd, Pyrra Nikos--”_

With a swipe of her hand, Pyrrha closed it, and shut off her comm-crystal shortly after. “Just more of the ever escalating bad news that’s been coming since the Eve,” she replied. “More fuel for anxiety and stress, than anything worth knowing about, really.”

“Noted, thank you,” Weiss said, before she took another drink.

“We’re back!” Yang called out as she and Taiyang walked into the kitchen, hauling Jaune between them. “Sorry we took so long, Jaune here insisted he wanted to reach the finish line before we officially called it a day.”

“Did he make it?” Pyrrha asked.

“Yep!” Taiyang said as he held Jaune up by his armpits, Yang carefully put his feet back down on the floor. “He collapsed on his face with his nose clearly inside the line, which still counts!” he said as the two of them helped him into a chair, before heading off to the sink.

Pyrrha and Weiss stared at the exhausted and sweaty Jaune, unsure of how he was staying roughly upright. “Are you sure you should have brought him back here?” Pyrrha asked.

“What, should we have left him outside in the dirt?” Yang joked as she and Taiyang washed their hands, then put on their aprons.

“No, I meant, he looks like he could use a trip to the hospital, not dinner,” Pyrrha replied.

“He’s fine! All he really needs is food, and _lots_ of it,” Taiyang said as he started pulling out pots and pans, utensils, and bowls. “Trust me, I’ve gone to human college for this, and I’ll have you know I’ve already had my Fae physical trainer’s license renewed!” he said as he pulled a knife off the magnetic strip on the wall.

“Here, try giving him this if you’re so worried about him passing out!” Yang said as she rummaged through the fridge, pulled out the half-eaten Cheese, then tossed him to the table.

Pyrrha caught him, Weiss unwrapped the fibers he was covered in, and put him in front of Jaune. Depressions quickly formed on Cheese’s surface, sized accordingly to the reduced area:

:)

Jaune looked down at him with tired eyes, before he fell forward on the table and on top of Cheese, face-first. Weiss and Pyrrha flinched, the latter stood up and pulled Jaune back up. Cheese was now squished and stuck to Jaune’s face, his features warped but still recognizable:

:|

Weiss cast a withering look at Taiyang.

“He’ll be _fine_ come morning, Fae food solves a lot of problems,” Taiyang said as chopped up and prepped ingredients at lightning speed. “Mark my words, after a couple more months of training and some echoes in his system, all he’ll really need is a decent snack and he’ll be back in action in no time!” said as he slammed his hands on the counter.

All of the prepped ingredients flew up into the air, he caught them all in their bowls and plates before any touched the ground, then passed them onto Yang.

“You ladies better stuff yourselves silly tonight, by the way, because we’re heading to the Pits before breakfast!” Yang said as she started dumping the ingredients onto blazing hot pans and woks, the kitchen filling with the sounds of sizzling and frying. “5AM tomorrow—and I mean 5:00 _sharp_ —we are heading out to the Tubes, then lining up at the Pits to get the best chance possible of getting our team name before someone else does.

“We absolutely can _not_ lose our name, alright?” Yang said as she tossed ingredients in a wok. “The cost of failure will be as catastrophic as it is _unacceptable._ ”

“Piper, you make it sound like this whole thing is a high-stakes military operation,” Weiss said.

“And I’m being as serious as any CO in the AFA!” Yang said as she tossed the wok, before she started stirring other ingredients, or putting in more. “Make sure to set _several_ alarms, and know that I’ll be coming to fetch you personally too, just in case.”

So it was that Weiss set alarms for 5AM with the help of some of Winter’s plushies, adding, “She seems pretty deathly serious about this, so don’t freak out if she does anything a little crazy, alright?”

The plushies she was talking with all nodded or made noises of agreement.

“Good plushies,” Weiss said, petting them, before she headed off to get ready for bed. Winter wasn’t around, as she had a night shift with the Watchers, but as she was exhausted from the day’s training and schooling, and had a belly full of delicious food, she slept peacefully…

… Up until 5 AM sharp the next day, when Yang kicked open her bedroom door, screaming “WEISS, GET UP! WE’RE MOVING, _NOW!”_

Weiss bolted up in her nest, the gems on her collar flashing bright blue. “Wait, what? What’s going—HEY! YANG, WHAT THE FUCK—PUT ME DOWN!”

“No can do, Weiss!” Yang cried as she ran off with Weiss on her shoulder

“At least let me get dressed, damn it!” Weiss screeched as she uselessly flailed her legs.

“You’ll be fine, trust me!” Yang said as she rushed through the Schnee sisters’ home, got into the waiting elevator, and nearly broke the button for the ground floor.

“Why are you even rushing so much?!” Weiss said as the elevator started going down.

“Because, our name becomes available at six, and the wait at the Pits is going to take at least an hour!” Yang replied, running in place. “I’m ashamed you’ve forgotten already, Weiss!”

“Well _forgive me_ for having terrible memory recall when you break into my house, and _kidnap_ me at this ungodly hour!” Weiss cried, before the doors opened, and Yang bolted out of the elevator and the barn, then up the path leading to the Tube station.

“PUT! ME! _DOWN!”_ Weiss cried as she was bounced about on Yang’s shoulder.

“No! You’re. Way. Too. _Slow!”_ Yang said in-between pants for breath.

The Tube station came into view, Pyrrha was already standing there in her day clothes plus a jacket, patiently waiting with a pleasant smile on her face, up until she saw Yang and Weiss run up. She watched as Yang stuffed Weiss into the log that was already open and waiting, Weiss furiously wrestling to get out, before Yang successfully immobilized her with the safety straps, then shut the hatch.

Everyone could hear Weiss screaming bloody murder from inside the log, up until the Tube technician sent her rocketing off.

<Legal?> Pyrrha asked as Yang climbed into the second Tube.

<Yes,> one of the technicians said, pulling out a physical copy of an agreement Weiss, Yang, and Pyrrha had all signed just days earlier.

Pyrrha slowly nodded, before it was time for her to get into the third and last log.

Less than a minute later, Weiss staggered out of one of the Pits’  T ube stations,  grabbing  onto a nearby column for support as she gazed out at the lobby before her.

It looked like the interior of some ancient, lavish underground arena, the walls, the floor, and the massive columns liberally decorated with commemorative statues, reliefs, and tapestries of the Valley’s greatest Pit Fighters and legendary clashes, all bathed in a warm orange glow by enchanted torches. Everywhere you looked, you’d find antique, handcarved and shaped stone, metal, and ancient wood; lovingly tended plants and carefully woven displays of elemental magic; shining metallic threads and precious stones; paintings, banners, and emblems made of old canvas, paper, and cloth, decades to centuries or even a thousand years old. The only things that really clashed with the aesthetic were the inevitable abundance of clearly modern posters, banners, and holographic advertisements for the latest fights and notices; the songs and music being used, like this week’s latest hit pop songs; and all the support and gimmicks for comm-crystal apps, and marketing promotions.

Weiss would have to find another day to take it all in, however, as Yang grabbed her hand, and started ploughing through the crowds with her and Pyrrha in tow.

The Pits were packed even for the early hour, folks crowded around the feeds of ongoing fights, cheering in delight or howling in despair; argued with one another over bets and odds, the likeliness of certain match-ups and their outcomes, or their allegiances and devotion to certain Pit fighters; or screamed and gushed over the particularly famous ones doing live appearances and interviews then.

Eventually, they rounded a corner and went down a hall to an entirely different section, where the decorations were much less elaborate and space-consuming, the holos were filled with take-a-number systems and administrative notices, and all the furniture was less luxurious and more utilitarian than the lobby, more long stone benches, than cushy, pillow-filled nests. It was packed to the brim with folks, but much quieter and peaceful, as Pit fighters or their representatives waited to be called up to the counters.

Yang screeched to a halt just before she hit a solid wall of Fae standing around at the very back; she frantically tried to look for a gap between the crowds, a path to the ticketing machine, and groaned as she found none. She turned to Weiss, put her hands on her shoulders, and said, “Air Xiao Long.”

Weiss scowled, and replied, “I am _not_ doing that.”

“I don’t think you realize I wasn’t asking,” Yang said, before she picked Weiss up.

“HEY!” Weiss cried. “YANG, PUT ME DOW--!”

Yang threw her, heads turned and ears twitched as Weiss’ went sailing above the crowds, past some hanging decorations, signs, and lighting, before she hit a floor-to-ceiling banner, rolled down its length, and safely onto the floor.

“TICKET!” Yang shouted from behind the sea of folks. “GET A TICKET, WEISS!”

Weiss scowled as she picked herself up by the edge of the nearby counter, held out her hand, and a small bird calmly put one in her hand.

“DID YOU GET IT?!” Yang yelled from the back, hidden by all the folks in-between.

“GOT IT!” Weiss yelled in reply, raising her hand and the ticket into the air, before she had a moment of realization, and awkwardly put it back down. She clutched it tightly in her fingers before she started to squeeze into the crush and back to Yang and Pyrrha, excusing herself and apologizing all the while.

In the back of her head, she started plotting her revenge...


	20. Chapter 20

As Yang had warned, the line at the Pits’ administrative desk moved painfully slowly. It seemed that every number that was called was for a huge team that needed to form a secondary line as they signed and vetted their paperwork in batches, an individual who was missing some important document or other bureaucratic hang-up, or a counter had suddenly closed, and just wouldn’t seem to open again.

The take-a-number holo chimed, Weiss looked up, back down at the number in her hand, before she groaned. “This is taking _forever...”_ she whined as she stuck it back into Pyrrha’s jacket pocket, then pulled the garment around her again. “How can this system be so slow and inefficient...?”

“Welcome to paperwork for the rest of us!” someone quipped as they headed up to the counter.

The standing crowds began to shift as folks found seats, curses and yelling erupted as others were stolen by particularly sneaky and agile individuals. Someone looked pointedly at Weiss as he put a hand on a free spot on a bench, she shook her head. The Fae shrugged, and took it.

“Oh _come on!”_ Yang shouted as she knelt on the ground on all fours.

Weiss ignored her and continued sitting on her back, calmly readjusting her legs.

Some time later, Pyrrha returned from her trip to the “Grub Hub,” carrying a single shake. “I’m back!” she said. “I’m sorry it took so long, it looks like the breakfast rush is already here.”

“Just hand me my shake, please,” Weiss said as she held out her hand. Pyrrha did, Weiss took a sip out of it, and immediately perked up. “Mmm! This is actually pretty good! How much was this?” she asked before she took another drink.

“180 Shinies.” Pyrrha replied.

Weiss nearly choked on her drink. “WHAT?! How does the Pits expect to charge so much for this?” sheasked, looking at her cup.

“Primary business tactic,” Yang explained. “Cheap entry, jacked up everything else. That’s part of the reasons they can afford to pay us so well, by the way, so I wouldn’t be the most vocal critic of it, if I were you...”

Weiss sighed, and sipped some more of her shake, enjoying it a lot less than earlier.

Just ten minutes after six, their number finally came up. Having already read through the terms of their contracts, and briefed on any issues through holo-chat earlier in the week, all they really needed to do was personally affix their signatures on paper copies, alongside giving their fingerprints, and additional hard evidence that they were actually there at the Pits when the documents said they were.

<Is blood needed?> Weiss asked sarcastically as they seemed to near the end of the list of proofs.

<If you wish,> the clerk replied in all seriousness, reaching into his desk, and pulling out a small knife wrapped around a clean cloth, glass vials, and a box of bandages. <The Pits never says ‘No’ to additional security.>

Weiss paused, staring at them, before she said, <I was joking.>

The clerk looked mildly annoyed at that as he put the items back into his drawer.

Eventually, the newly registered Furies left the counter, each with their own personal duplicate of their copyright, contained inside complimentary waterproof, fireproof, and reinforced tubes, complete with a leather-covered chain that they could use to tie it around their wrists or waists.

“This seems a little excessive for copyright,” Pyrrha said, feeling the weight of it all in one of her hands.

“It is once we rise up the ranks, and our name starts to be worth something!” Yang replied as she tied her duplicate around her wrist. “This is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to shutdown anyone trying to take advantage of our rep without our permission, like selling ‘official’ merchandise on the sly, so keep it somewhere safe, never forget where you hid it, and do not, I repeat, _do not_ tell anyone else where it is.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you guys, it’s just that I’m worried about what certain unscrupulous folks will try to get all three of these babies, among other things.”

“So basically, treat this like criminal syndicates treat their real estate deeds?” Weiss asked sarcastically.

“ _Exactly!”_ Yang replied, pointing at her. “Anyway, that’s everything we needed to do in the Pits today! I’m going to go ask around and check out our competition, you guys can go do your own things now.”

“I’ll be watching a couple of live matches, then!” Pyrrha said. “Weiss, would you like to join me?”

“Maybe some other time, when I’m not as under-dressed,” Weiss said, looking down at herself. “I’m heading home, I’ll leave your jacket at the living room.”

“Alright, have a safe trip!” Pyrrha said, waving goodbye before they all went their separate ways.

* * *

Weiss returned to Keeper’s Grove, stashed her contract in her and Winter’s safe, then went down to her laboratory with Penny, working and checking on her ongoing projects, and practicing some useful skills, like how to make medicine with field equipment. Thanks to her collar, and Penny needing to stay plugged into the wall to after joining Winter on her night shift, almost everything went by at a snail’s pace.

On this particular day, Weiss didn’t mind, enjoying the peace.

Then, by ten o’clock, she got a message from Yang: “We’ve got trouble heading straight for the Grove in 15 minutes. Look decent, put your game face on, and make sure to bring either Dad or Penny with you to the road leading to the Tube station.”

Weiss tried to send her a reply, but Yang’s comm-crystal was already set to “Do Not Disturb” mode. She sighed as she took her hands off the magic oil press she was using, and muttered, “Well, _this_ doesn’t seem ominous and menacing at all...”

“Would you like to me to ready my defensive measures, Weiss?” Penny asked. “If you carry me to the meeting location, I’ll be capable of doing one or two stunning blasts before shutting down for lack of power, but that should be enough to help you get away to safety.”

“Don’t bother,” Weiss said as she began to take off her working gloves and mask. “With Yang and Pyrrha, I’ve already got more than enough protection if things get ugly.” She noticed her loaner runeblade as she hung up her gear, before she shook her head and headed out without it.

“ _It’s not like I’m going to be able to do much with it, anyway...”_ she thought to herself.

It turned out to be the right decision as Yang, Pyrrha, and a trio of female Fae she’d never seen before also came completely unarmed, even if the atmosphere was _far_ from friendly. With Penny in her hands, Weiss stepped up beside her friends, and checked out the strangers.

The one in the center was was a stockily built tamaraw Fae, an impressive set of V-shaped horns extending behind her head. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, and was so angry that Weiss could clearly see the puffs of hot air coming out of her nostrils.

The one on her left was a slender chicken Fae with a prominent crest of obnoxiously bright, neon green feathers styled like a Mohawk, the prominent talons of her feet making her seem even taller. She gave them all the evil eye, the decorative spikes and crystalline skulls on her clothes and accessories gleaming as ominously.

The one on her right was a meerkat Fae, much smaller and younger-looking than her companions; she seemed just as pissed as the others, but her being just as tall, if not shorter than Weiss ruined any sort of intimidating quality she had.

“Who the hell are those?” Weiss whispered to Yang.

“Big one’s Keren, tall girl’s Vigne, tiny gal is Sayuri,” Yang whispered back, eyes still on the trio.

“And _why_ exactly do they all look like they want to kill us?”

“Because they’re not too happy we’ve got their old team name now.”

Weiss blinked. “Wait, did we steal it from them?!”

“ _We didn’t steal shit!”_ Yang snapped at Weiss, her eyes suddenly fiery red. She stopped herself, and took a deep breath, her eyes turning back to normal. “Look, I’ll explain the entire situation later, just let me do all the talking with them while you and Pyrrha stand by my sides and look tough, or just make it seem like they don’t bother you at all, alright?”

Weiss turned to Pyrrha. “We have the evidence _overwhelmingly_ in our favour, don’t worry,” she said as she patted her duplicate, still in its tube and tied to her waist.

Weiss sighed, before she moved up to Yang’s free side, and scowled at the original Furies’ direction.

Yang took Penny from Weiss’ hands, and whispered to her, <Dedicated recording mode, multi-angle shots. Turn up the footage quality and sound sensitivity high, too, I don’t want _any_ ambiguity if this gets messy.>

<Affirmative,> Penny said, before her tail and her ears started transforming as she hovered up between the two groups, looking like a fuzzy camera drone with auxiliary lenses, and an external sound receiver.

Satisfied, Yang stepped forward and threw her arms out. <Alright: we’re all here and ready! Lay it on us, sister.>

<Do you think this is _funny…? > _Keren snapped. <Get your laughs fucking us locals over?>

<On the contrary, we’re dead serious!> Yang said, holding up her duplicate. <So serious we put down money and our names on it.>

Keren stomped her hoof in the ground, hunching her shoulders as she clenched her fists. <Give it back— _n_ _ow,_ _>_ she growled.

<You can’t demand someone to give back what you didn’t own,> Yang said calmly. <I checked several times, both on the Codex and at the Pits in-person, and have the saved and dated proof on my comm-crystal saying your copyright to _our_ name expired at 6AM today!>

<And you think you could just steal it from right under our noses?!> Keren bellowed.

Yang’s eyes flared red again. _<_ _We didn’t steal shit!_ _> _ she roared. She clenched her fists and took several long, deep breaths, before she continued, _<_ All we did was wake up early, and stand in that line, with all our documentation in order and our Shinies ready, the same, legal process we would have done if we were going to lay claim to any other name.

<We did _nothing_ to stop you, lie to you, or try to sabotage you in any way , nor did any of us even know who _any_ of you were until you cornered me from out of nowhere, looking like you were about to gang up on me!

<As a matter of fact, it’s _your_ fault you didn’t renew your copyright when you still had the exclusive right—two months before expiry, if I’m not mistaken?>

Sayuri faltered for a moment, Vigne and Keren maintained their composure. <Things happened,> Keren said quietly.

<And I’m sorry to hear that, but that still doesn’t change the fact that we were well within our right to take the name for ourselves, according to the written rules and regulations of the Pits,> Yang said. <If you three find you can’t follow those, then _maybe_ you should all think about careers elsewhere...?>

Keren fumed, thick plumes of hot breath jetting out of her nostrils. <And maybe _you_ three should start learning the _un_ written rules of the Pits , especially since _two_ of you fucking soft-skins can’t even understand the language they’re in!>

Yang looked like she’d just been socked in the face, her eyes flaring red and her hole body tensing up. <Look, what the fuck is it that you three want?!> she yelled. < _We_ _own_ the copyright from now till next year, and we have a shit ton of hard evidence to back us up! Even if you _do_ take your beef to the honours, I am willing to bet a mountain of Shinies that they every single one of them will reject you, then charge you up front for wasting their time, trying to enlist their help to win a case that was already lost before it started! >

<Well, it’s a good thing we’re not doing that!> Keren barked, before she looked to her companions in turn. <Vigne! Sayuri!>

<On it!> they both cried.

Keren dramatically stomped both her hooves as she hunched forward and bared her horns, Vigne flapped her wings and scratched the mud beneath her with her talons, and Sayuri lunged and hissed, showing off her sharp teeth and her claws.

<We, the _original_ Furies hereby challenge you to a duel, where the winner gets the copyright to the name!> Keren shouted. As one, the three of them dramatically pointed, and cried: <Do you all accept?!>

<Hang on, I gotta translate and consult with them first,> Yang said, before she turned her back to the original Furies.

Keren roared in frustration and started stomping about, Sayuri spluttered and fumed in confusion and anger, Vigne flapped her wings again, this time trying to calm them down and keep them from charging forward.

Yang, Pyrrha, and Weiss ignored them all as they huddled up.

“I take it the three of them are challenging us to a duel, to try to win the right to use their name again?” Pyrrha asked.

“ _Our_ name, but otherwise, that exactly, yeah,” Yang said.

“Do we _really_ have to entertain this?” Weiss asked.

“Yes.” Yang replied.

Weiss groaned. “Ugh, please tell me you’re kidding...”

“I _sincerely_ wish I was, Weiss, but the potential damage to our rep is just too great,” Yang said . “Even if we took our name fair and square, there’s no way folks are going to interpret our rejecting their challenge as anything other than our being too scared to fight them, _or_ wanting to personally insult all three of them by implying they’re so beneath us we don’t even think it’s worth our time to fight them—not a good look for a brand new team, especially one that hasn’t even had a single official match in the Pits yet.

“First team impressions and reputations stick with a fighter, even long after they’ve left the group and gone on to new teams or fly solo, we _have_ to get this right.”

“ _Please_ tell me we can at least set the conditions and the date.” Weiss said.

“We can, it’s our right as the challenged party, don’t worry,” Yang said. “The only things I _have_ to insist on is that it be a completely vanilla, best 2 of 3 rounds toss-up, with a third-party judge and spotters, while being recorded and live-broadcasted on the Codex—ideally, the fight’s in the Pits, too.”

“Can’t we just have it at the training grounds again, with Ren and Nora officiating, and the others spotting?” Weiss asked. “All of that sounds _ridiculously_ expensive.”

“I second that.” Pyrrha said. “We’re all down a great deal of shinies from all the fees, and it’ll be a long time yet before any of us ever see a paycheck from this, let alone that much money.”

“We’ll see if we can’t convince them to pony up the costs themselves, then,” Yang replied. “They definitely already have the dough to spend since they were supposed to register today, and it’s not like we need to spring for the fancier arenas, or high-ranking staff.”

“And if they say ‘No’?” Weiss asked.

“ _Then_ we can try to convince the Pits to make it a real, official bout, sell tickets, and HQ live-feed access and recordings to make up the costs, maybe even get a share of it if we can convince enough folks to get on board with sponsoring it.

“So with all that in mind: are we in agreement that we’re going to accept the challenge?’”

Weiss sighed, and said, “Yes… I always figured at some point I’d have to sell off pieces of my dignity to pay off my debt, anyway...”

“I’m so sorry, Yang, Weiss, but I have to say no.” Pyrrha said sheepishly.

“What?!” Yang spluttered. “Why?!”

“Will you _look at her?”_ Pyrrha asked, pointing at Sayuri. “Even if it _is_ legal for me to do so, I can’t willingly harm a _child!”_

Yang nodded. “Yeah, now that you say it loud, it _would_ be a pretty shitty thing if we beat the crap out of someone half our age, even if she _was_ willingly participating in a team match-up...”

“And that’s only occurring to you _now...?”_ Weiss asked.

“Sue me!” Yang cried, throwing her arms up. “I’m used to the Valentino Underground, and trust me, shit got _fucked up_ down there! Anyway, you want me to ask if they’ll agree to a 2v2? We’ll probably have to make it their choice who goes up against who, though.”

“I’d like to take that risk if you neither of you mind,” Pyrrha said. “I really don’t want that weight on my conscience.”

“I’m good with it,” Weiss said.

“And so am I,” Yang said, before she turned back to the original Furies. <Hey! You guys mind if we do it as a 2v2, your pick on who goes up?> she shouted.

<And why the _fuck_ would we do that?! > Keren shouted back.

<Pyrrha here doesn’t want to fight Sayuri, says she doesn’t want to beat up a little kid!>

Sayuri’s eyes widened. <Little ki--?! I’M **FIFTEEN,** DAMN IT, I’M ONLY A FEW YEARS YOUNGER THAN ALL OF YOU...! > she screeched, so sharp and shrill everyone had to cover their ears.

<OW! FUCK! SORRY, FORGET THAT WE ASKED!> Yang shouted.

Sayuri stopped screeching, before she sharply spun around, and sulked.

Yang turned back to Pyrrha. “She’s actually 15!” she said loudly. “Since you’re fine with fighting Sayuri, is it back to a 3v3?” she said, holding up three fingers on each hand.

“Yes!” Pyrrha replied, alongside a thumbs up.

Yang turned back around, and said, <Alright! We accept your challenge! Let’s shake on it, and start hashing out the details!>

The two teams met in the middle and started negotiating, Penny acting as witness. After finding a suitable date for all three of them, setting the terms, and convincing the original Furies to cover most of the costs of the fight (if _extremely_ reluctantly), they sent the necessary requests and downpayments to the Pits.

<Don’t you _dare_ bring anything less than your best, alright?> Keren snapped. <I want the whole realm to know why you don’t fuck with the Furies.>

<Ditto that, especially the rep!> Yang said, smirking. <Should really help us get off the ground, what with the stigma we carry.>

Keren started to rumble ominously, before Vigne put a hand on her shoulder and led her and Sayuri off.

“Is this going to be the first of many folks challenging us to a fight for one reason or the other?” Weiss asked flatly.

“Definitely,” Yang said, nodding. “Don’t worry though: we can definitely afford to be a lot more selective with our future fights once we win this.”

“Don’t you mean ‘if’ we win this?” Pyrrha asked.

Yang chuckled and smiled. “Aw, c’mon, Pyrrha, have a little more faith in us Furies, will ya? Fights are won before they start, after all!”


	21. Chapter 21

In line with what Yang said, the three Furies plus Penny agreed to dedicate the rest of the morning to opposition research.

Reputation-wise, the original Furies were unremarkable. Individually, all of them were still at the lowest possible bracket, and as a team, they were still unranked; all of their official matches were open sign-ups, random selection, or took advantage of Sayuri being a weaver; and none of them were ever mentioned by name in the intros and the ads, much more folks clearly paying specifically to see them.

“They’re what we call ‘Grist,’ newbies and amateurs the management sets against each other to fill up the shows in between the big-name bouts,” she explained further. “Most folks forget about them after their fights, and they usually only get flat fees upfront for their footage, seeing as it tends to be generic highlights, B-rolls, or compilations, like people taking bad hits to the nuts.”

“Seriously?” Weiss asked.

“Yes, _seriously!”_ Yang replied. “Anyway, don’t take their being Dust league to mean that they’re going to be weak! Everyone that rises up past that is a certified badass among decent fighters, and some folks willingly stay there as official, or self-appointed quality control, keep things exciting for Stone and beyond.”

Weiss and Pyrrha started to see just how much dangerous they were as they started renting holos, and watching the original Furies in action.

_Fzzssh!_

A lightning ball struck a muscular rhino Fae, she gritted her teeth and stiffened as her whole body visibly coursed with electricity, sparks flying everywhere. Keren launched Vigne into the air, a rain of throwing spears isolated the stunned rhino from her allies. Vigne and Sayuri chased them off immediately after, either forcing them to dodge and weave around a flurry of dance-like kicks and slashes from her talons, or blowing them away with a compressed air explosion.

The rhino recovered, just in time to see Keren charging for her; the two of them figuratively and literally locked horns, kicking up huge clouds of dirt as they wrestled.

WHAM!

Keren headbutted her opponent, dazing her long enough to pick her up, and hurl her into both of their teammates’ ways!

Vigne’s eyes widened and her feathers rose straight up, before she tackled Sayuri into the dirt, lightning discharging into the ground, several throwing spears spilling out of her quiver and clattering onto the dirt.

Their opponents smiled as they readied their weapons over their prone forms… then, their rhino friend slammed into them both, sending the whole trio flying and rolling out of bounds, right into the arms of a waiting spotter team.

“That was _sloppy,”_ Pyrrha said, frowning. “She could have seriously injured her teammates, too; left them vulnerable to attack; and caused unnecessary down time in the middle of the combat, not giving any heads-up whatsoever like that.”

“Yeah, that tends to be the reason folks like her stay in Dust league,” Yang said.

The original Furies were eliminated soon after, and they moved on to another match. KO/scoring; objective-based fights like capture the flag; or special rule sets and arenas, they found that the Furies won some, lost some, and generally worked well together, until someone made a reckless mistake (Keren), a risky, flashy, elaborate maneuver ended in catastrophe (Vigne), or they simply ran out of energy (Sayuri).

By 1PM, they wrapped it up, both for lunch, and the Schnee sisters being due at the Terrace at 2.

“… So let me get this straight,” Winter asked as they ate, “you’ve only _just_ registered, haven’t even had a single official match, and _already_ you have sworn enemies, and will be having an important, possibly career-jeopardizing bout with them in a month?”

“Pretty much,” Weiss said as she picked up some more savory pie with her fork. “Looks like that mysterious force that’s been constantly fucking me over has regained its momentum, after its two week break. On the bright side, maybe I’ll finally start becoming desensitized, and this constant cavalcade of crap will start _feeling_ less awful,” she said, before she put it into her mouth.

“Aww, c’mon, Weiss, don’t be like that!” Nora said, talking with her mouth full and gesturing wildly with her hands and utensils as she spoke. “This’ll be a _great_ opportunity for you Furies to earn some serious brownie points with the audience!:

“Fighting for the right to keep your name from jealous rivals? The whole Fae VS Human/Hybrid dynamic you’ve got going? Your reputations each?

“All that’s going to make you stand out from the crowd now—definitely end of act 1 material for your future documentary holo, for sure!” she said, nodding.

Weiss swallowed, and asked, “And if we happen to lose?”

“You can still turn it around to your favour!” Nora replied.

“You can hope that the original Furies become your long-term rivals, matching you rank for rank as you both climb up the ladder, drive each other to improve, all the while developing a deep, mutual respect for one another as fellow Pit fighters, _and_ milking for all its worth in your advertising!

“You can take the defeat as a baptism by fire, that one match you never, ever forget, and flashback to it when you’re on the verge of defeat, before using it to turn the tables and kick ass to victory! _O_ _r_ _,_ you can use as the story for your big motivational speeches, inspiring you and everyone you’re fighting with to win the big tournaments, _especially_ around promotion season!

“Then, when you’re finally in the Etherite league, and you happen to run into the original Furies off-field and set, and you can tell them, ‘Thanks for beating us in that match-up way back when. I’m sure we wouldn’t have made it this far if it weren’t for that fight.’” Nora said, making a poor impression of Weiss’ voice.

“I mean, technically it could go in a whole lot of other, less awesome ways, like you quitting the Pits because you can’t earn enough Shinies to make a decent living out of it, but honestly, I’m not getting that sort of vibe from the conclusions of the arcs you’ve already been through, so I _doubt_ this’ll end up being just a one-off event during the early or middle episodes, before being forgotten entirely as the plot revolves around some other recurring conflict for the rest of this season.”

Weiss, Winter, Jaune, and Pyrrha blankly stared at her.

“Nora tends to see the world in terms of story structure, character archetypes, and how certain works in specific genres tend to go, thanks to all her HV consumption over the years,” Ren explained calmly.

“Before you ask: no, the menders have yet to declare her excessive HV consumption as a problem, as none of her behaviours directly related to it have significantly impeded her daily living, nor caused her or anyone else any clear, significant distress and/or harm,” Penny chimed in as she charged on the counter.

Pyrrha nodded slowly. “I don’t mean any offense, but that seems like an overly simplistic way to understand the world—It’s infinitely more complex and unpredictable than fiction ever could be, for one.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Nora replied. “But in my defense, that’s only when you expect the wrong kind of development and events to happen to a certain character! If you know what role someone is playing in a story, then predicting what’s going to happen next or what they’ll do will be easy—take Weiss being a protagonist, for example.”

Weiss stopped in the middle of bringing more food to her mouth. “Excuse me? No, you know what? Nevermind, can we please switch topics?”

“Sure!” Nora said. “How about the game plan for how you’re totally going to kick the original Furies asses in your big duel?!”

“Eh, it’s really only just vague ideas at the moment!” Yang said, waving her off. “We’ve still got at least 2-3 official match-ups before we tussle with Keren’s team; still need to find weapons Pyrrha wants to stick with; and still need to see just how much Weiss can do while that collar’s still on her.

“Speaking of which: Weiss, do me a favour and try and sign up for combat training today, alright? We need to know ASAP if the worst you can do to someone is throw a nasty snowball at them.”

“Will do,” Weiss replied.

The rest of the conversation moved on to recommendations about Fae weapons and their associated styles that Pyrrha had yet to try and might suit her, before Weiss and Winter headed back to their home and started gearing up for their trip to the Weaver’s Terrace.

With Idun and five other summons in the soul stones on Winter’s belt, and Penny hitched on Weiss’ back like a bag, they headed out.

* * *

The Terrace was even busier than usual when they got there, the Water Quadrant surrounded with what looked to be an area-wide, semi-translucent barrier, with numerous warning signs, cycling notices, and numerical counters slowly revolving around it.

Even from the very edge, it was easy to see the giant aquatic and amphibious animals, elementals, and summons constantly diving into and emerging from numerous points all over the water; massive construction equipment and maker/weaver teams working by the docks, the shallows, and the destroyed buildings and trees; and the convoys constantly bringing in materials and supplies from outside, or taking away debris and salvaged equipment from within.

The other three quadrants were no exception to the construction and logistics blitz.

Everywhere you looked, there were canvas tents, mud buildings, and huts so recent the leaves on their roofs were sometimes still fresh, being used as temporary shelters, or upgraded into more solid buildings. Alongside them were no shortage of industrial water pumps; pools of all sizes; and cooling devices from outdoor air conditioners, temperature-controlled enclosures, or even just refrigerators to keep drinking water, beverages, potions, cold packs, and the occasional overheated elemental cold.

The myriad research, projects, and training were still mostly going on as usual, but evidently the crowding was making some of the more space-consuming and adventurous of them _difficult—_ the folks underneath the more fragile huts _clearly_ did not appreciate the air and fire weavers flying overhead and nearly ripping their roofs off.

In spite of Weiss being one of the root causes of this whole predicament, however, it seemed no one really held a grudge against her, or cared to show it to her face; she and Winter were calmly informed of which quadrant they were assigned to for the day, and though heads turned and folks talked, it seemed to be without malice, and they willingly gave them seats on a large flying ship that was about to head out.

Granted, this time, they were expected to help power up the turbines and propellers along with everyone else.

<Weavers, ready?!> said the Fae standing at the fore.

<Aye!> everyone cried back, their summons making similar noises.

<ONWARDS!>

Everyone cheered and roared as the interior lit up with all manner of colours of magic, until they merged into a uniform blue-green. The pipes started to rattle and hum from the pressure, the turbines roared to life, most of the folks and some of their summons broke into a chantey, before the vehicle flew off, into the dense thickets and floating islands of the Air Quadrant.

Eventually, they disembarked a busy shipping dock, the ancient wooden floors crowded with folks, animals, elementals, and cargo moving, boarding or being loaded on the ships landing and taking off like clockwork.

“Weiss! Winter!” Bee yelled over the hubbub, only the glowing, pulsing tip of her staff visible from where the sisters stood. “Over here!”

“I think you should go ahead without me,” Winter said as she watched her summons return to her, each one of them “sweating” and struggling to keep their forms stable. “They all look like they could use a _long_ soak in mana water for a while.”

“It’s fine, we’ll meet up later!” Weiss said, giving Winter a quick hug before she tried to slip into the crowds.

“Try not to cause any more massive disasters in the meanwhile!” Winter called out cheerfully.

Weiss scowled and tried to shoot her a look, but the crowds were already pushing her further away, blocking her from view; with a quiet sigh, she turned her eyes back to Bee’s staff and worked her way through the crush.

“Good afternoon, Weiss!” Bee said as Weiss stepped up to her. “You ready to resume your training?”

“Yes, but is there any chance I might be able to focus on combat?” Weiss asked. “I’m pretty sure this has made my control and excessive output problems non-issues for now,” she said, touching her collar.

“Already way ahead of you, Weiss!” Bee said, grinning. “I’ve been sending out requests to the other teachers to borrow their own students, to make the minimum headcount for a combat class with special cases much like yourself. It was almost dissolved today, actually, but then the one student we needed to make it suddenly came _begging_ for the last slot, right out of the blue!”

“That’s convenient!” Weiss said, smiling. “A little _too_ convenient,” she continued, frowning.

“Is something rubbing you the wrong way about this, Weiss?” Bee asked.

“Just a hunch that the universe is going to compensate for this in the most awful way possible, as usual,” Weiss replied.

Before Bee could reply, she noticed someone behind Weiss. “Oh, speak of the devil, there she is right now!” she said as she raised her staff and waved it in the air again. “Over here, Sayuri!”

For a brief moment, Weiss considered that perhaps “Sayuri” was just a common name among Valley Fae, and that this was an entirely different Sayuri altogether, much like how you could find a great deal of people named “John” and variations thereof...

… But as offended screeching pierced through the air, and a tiny, angry, sparking meerkat quickly stormed up to Bee, she remembered she just wasn’t that lucky.


	22. Chapter 22

Appropriately enough for an air weaver, Sayuri’s fury was like a raging storm, electricity violently discharging and sparking from her fur and her claws as she shouted at such a high volume and speed, it looked like even someone as normally calm, collected, and professional as Bee was quickly looking overwhelmed.

She quickly shot Weiss a look and gestured for her to back off, a stray jolt of electricity giving her some extra encouragement. Sayuri was still going as Bee tapped her staff on the ground, and a bubble formed around them, dulling the sound of her rage significantly, her ever intensifying discharges exploding, crackling, and fading all over the inner surface.

Penny’s eyes suddenly brightened up, the pieces of her tail rapidly floating off of Weiss’ shoulders as she shot up into the air. She quickly spun around once, before slowing down and stopping at Sayuri and Bee.

“Identity, and source of your elevated stress levels both confirmed,” Penny said as she hovered down by Weiss’ head. “Are you alright, Weiss?”

Weiss nodded slowly. “Yeah, yeah I’m good… should we… should we step in or something?” she asked, watching as Bee seemed to be trying to talk to Sayuri, keeping the warm, friendly expression on her face even as Sayuri was still seething, violently discharging electricity everywhere.

“ _Definitely not,”_ Penny said firmly. “If your mere presence alone could incite this level of extreme, violent emotions in Sayuri, you’re best off avoiding her, especially if you don’t have a mediating figure such as Bee, or alternatively, some cause or crisis that will cause her to temporarily put her personal grudge aside.

“I advise you and I both leave until Sayuri calms down completely. In line with that, I’m detecting Winter’s comm-crystal signal nearby; would you like to go to her?”

Weiss nodded, and the two of them made a discrete exit, pushing back into the crowds once more.

They came out of the crush and to a mana water fountain, which seemed to be built out of a still living tree. Winter was loitering by a small pool near the roots, her summons’s soul stones deep inside the water. “Did something happen?” she asked as they came up.

“Just the usual,” Weiss muttered, before Penny perched herself on a nearby branch, and replayed the earlier events.

“Seriously?!” Winter asked. “I could understand her coming for you specifically from the whole team name business, but what are the odds, even, that she’d join up in the same class as Weiss, just in time to save it from being dissolved…?!”

“I’m afraid I don’t have enough information nor similar events on record to make an estimate, let alone an accurate one,” Penny replied. “That aside—and full disclosure, this is speaking _purely_ through basic pattern recognition without any further experimentation, research, or theory testing on my or anyone else’s part—the most _extremely_ improbable events just seem to keep consistently happening to Weiss specifically, against most laws of probability, so long as it inconveniences, threatens, or harms her in some way, shape, or form.”

“Seems Grandpa really WAS onto something when he talked about our family probably being cursed...” Weiss muttered, before she sighed heavily, and leaned into Winter’s side. “I’m really glad you’re here with me now, Winter, and staying for the long-term; it makes me feel more confident about whatever impending shit storm I’ll be facing, knowing you’re back here with me.”

“Think nothing of it,” Winter said, wrapping her arm around Weiss’ side. “I’ve got about a decade’s worth of big sister-ing to catch up to, anyway.”

“Excuse me, don’t mean to interrupt your sisterly bonding moment, but I feel I should really talk to you three before you get to class,” Bee said as she stepped up.

Weiss turned to her and looked around warily. “Where’s Sayuri?” she asked.

“She’s already on her way to class, and I’m happy to report, I managed to talk her down without incident,” Bee said, smiling, before her expression turned serious. “And speaking of Sayuri: I really have to please ask you that you don’t let her be a deal breaker; it took a LOT of time and effort to shift about and reschedule your eight other classmates from your original arrangements, and it’s a serious decision for any teacher to let go of their students to a special class like this, however short-term.

“A lot of the latter are working towards their Master’s Rites, and often are doing this as their full-time jobs; one less student under their tutelage could mean the difference between getting the opportunity to even be _considered_ for the Rites within the next couple of years, or a _serious_ blow to their income.

“Not to mention, if you back out of this now, it’ll be a lot harder for you to argue for special considerations and classes in the future...”

“Alright, alright, I get it! I won’t quit because of Sayuri, you can stop now,” Weiss said, before she shook her head. “Piper, are all you teachers this fond of guilt-tripping?”

“We Fae prefer to think of it more as, ‘politely reminding you of the consequences your actions can have on others,’” Penny chimed in, before she and Bee chuckled.

Weiss scowled, unamused.

“Anyway, you should probably be getting to class now, and meeting your teacher for today,” Bee said. “Most of them tend to be extremely lenient on the first day, but others are pretty strict about punctuality.”

Weiss nodded. “Do you happen to know anything about who they are?”

Bee shrugged. “I’m sorry, I was too busy with the begging and looking for recruits for the class in the first place. I do know that they’re going to be a representative of Primal Wenua, but there’s several of them that could fit the bill.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I really need to go, too.”

“Don’t let us keep you, Bee,” Weiss said. “Thanks for all the help.”

“Any time!” she said, before she hurried on over to a nearby “skyway,” launched herself up into the air via a sudden gust of wind.

“You ready to go, sis?” Weiss asked.

“Of course,” Winter said, smiling before she held her hand out over the basin. “Everyone out of the water!” she said.

There was disgruntled burbling and bubbling coming up from beneath the surface, before five of the six soul stones shot out of the water, arcing into Winter’s palm. She glared at the sixth. “You don’t get special treatment because you’re my main summon, Idun.”

_Splash!_

Idun joined the others, Winter smiled as she picked her up and slotted her back into her belt. “Good girl.”

With Penny having already calculated the most efficient route, the Schnee sisters followed her to their destination.

* * *

Their class was being held at the ground level, at a tent city set up at a long, flat, open field that Penny explained was for a Fae sport, “Huracan.” Other classes, work, and training sessions had already clearly begun, the sounds of shouting, exercising, casting, fighting, chanting, and swearing flooding the air, the Schnees and Penny having to maneuver very carefully through the too thin walkways allotted between tents and sectioned-off areas.

If it was any small comfort, the numerous shields put up everywhere were doing a damn fine job at keeping any potential disasters and mishaps contained.

_Boom!_

Weiss winced as pieces of a rock target smashed and disintegrated on the translucent barrier just beside her.

 _< Sorry!> _called the air weaver who’d blasted it to pieces.

Weiss shook her head, and they turned a corner down a line of tents.

_Fwoosh!_

Winter instinctively pulled Weiss to her chest and wrapped her arms around her as a giant jet of fire erupted not inches away from them, the flames licking and raging violently, fighting against a flashing barrier.

Idun flew off from her belt, “fur” bristling and magic lines roiling as she eyed the flames.

<We’ve got it under control, it’s fine!> a fire weaver yelled. <Just keep going!>

Winter and Weiss looked unconvinced, they carefully inched forward, Idun reluctantly jumping back onto Winter’s belt.

_WHAM!_

The sisters and Penny all jumped as a massive, bulky weaver slammed into the side of a shield, all his limbs splayed out, his face squished up against the enchanted wall as if it were made of glass. He peeled off of it, and collapsed onto a heap on the ground below.

<Are you alright, Weaver?> Winter asked.

He raised a claw, and made a thumbs up. <Mmm a’right!> he said as he picked himself up, and walked back to his fellows

Winter shook her head as they started walking again. “Piper, it’s like I’m right back in the Applied Sciences department at R&D...” she muttered.

“What was it like down there, anyway?” Weiss asked.

Winter sighed, and said, “Let’s just say the Queensguard’s emphasis on ‘you only need to be functional, talented, and capable of taking orders’ was never more obvious than it was down there...”

Eventually, they made it to the opposite end of the field, where most of the space had been converted into a running track, exercise equipment and machines spread out, with a handful of dueling pits in the center, most of them small enough only for 2-3 Fae to fight comfortably. Already, almost all of them were in use, weavers heaving and puffing, sweat pouring down their bodies as the lines of magic on their skin gradually pulsed harder and brighter.

<Heh, about time you three got here...> said a male Fae as he walked up to them.

He was a gazelle Fae, looking to be in his mid-twenties, neatly cut and dramatically shortened horns on his head, what little hair he had tied in a single braid that ran down the back of his head, a pleasant smile on his face and the squint of his eyes so pronounced it was almost like they were constantly closed.

<My name is Rokuro Tygan, one of Primal Wenua’s personal students!> he said opening his arms out wide in welcome, before offering them to Weiss and Winter both. <No need for introductions from either of you, we all know who the both of you are—hard not to, really.>

<It is a pleasure to meet you, Weaver, thank you for taking me under your tutelage,> Weiss said politely, before they each took a hand and shook.

His grip was incredibly strong and firm, the muscles of his bare, lean, and chiseled arms already tightening from just that motion alone. Weiss quietly wondered how the bejeweled metal bands running up from his wrist onward didn’t snap or seem to bend.

<And I have to thank you, for the honour of training the Keeper’s Mate, and her kin, at that,> Tygan said as he took his hands back, and clasped them. <Come, come, we’ve all just been waiting for you before we start—and before you get any ideas, this is the first and last special privilege any of us will be affording you for your status.>

<That’s just fine with us, Weaver Tygan,> Weiss said.

Tygan lead them to one of the few tents in the area, where Sayuri and seven other weavers were sitting around on the benches, tree branches, and rocks, waiting. They all seemed to be teenagers, just entering puberty, or already looking like young adults who’d clearly been through some shit. Temperaments ranged from meek and nervous, tensed up and warily eyeing the others, to bold and restless, clearly itching for the fighting to start already, or debating starting something themselves.

About the only thing that seemed to unite them all was that all of their gear had been clearly modified for combat, reinforced with armour plating; had slings, belts, and packs for extra weapons and/or ammo; or even decorated with the remains of their past kills, bones especially.

Weiss and Winter found a free spot together, Penny readied herself for a live translation as Tygan stepped up in front of all of them. He scanned the faces in front of him, took in a deep breath, and calmly said, <I will be completely honest: I really want to see all of your faces gone from this class as soon as possible.>

Many in the class clearly did not appreciate that, and didn’t hesitate to make it known, through scowls, disappointed sighs, and the odd minor spell thrown at him. Tygan stood in the center of it all, casually dodging or blowing away any projectiles, still smiling.

<This is because as long as you’re in this class, there is something keeping you from regular training with the rest of your peers; working on your apprenticeship to graduate to Adept level; or gaining the much more valuable experience and education that only being on the field, or working an actual job can give you, where the failures for consequences are much higher than a simple failing mark, and your instructor telling you to try and do better next time.

<In short: the longer you’re here, the more precious time you’re taking away from better things.>

<Then why don’t you just get to the fucking point already?!> a gorilla Fae shouted from somewhere in the front.

Still smiling, Tygan casually held out his finger; electricity arced from the tip, striking the gorilla Fae and him alone.

<OW! SON OF A BITCH!>

Tygan ignored him and continued, <My job is simple: I will teach you all how to fight, and fight well.

<I will not be encouraging you to read up on the philosophy of elemental weaving, write essays and give speeches, and spend long hours in meditation, pondering on the nature of magic and the realm. I will not be testing you on how well you can remember past events, significant weavers and their accomplishments, understand how they led to certain milestones, or the present state of magical theory. I will not be tasking you with internships, and forcing you to contribute your talents and powers to certain ongoing public projects.

<Your job is equally as simple: hit me with your magic.

<Specifically, you will have to do it within five minutes, in a fair duel 1-1, or however many of you you think you’ll need, successfully hit me once with any spell, or magically charged technique. This can be anything from something that knocks me out completely and leaves me absolutely devastated, to a drop of water hitting my cheek.

<Basically, so long as there is clear, undeniable evidence that you have successfully struck me, you will pass, and are free to return to regular training or whatever else you please>

The same gorilla Fae from earlier snorted. <Shit, that’s all? You’re not fucking with us?>

Tygan nodded. <Yes, that is all. Do you wish to try—Goro Aneyama, is it?>

<Yeah, and that’s my name, Teach,> Goro said, getting up from his seat and walking up to Tygan. <Not that you’re gonna need to remember it, ‘cause I’m gonna be out of here soon enough.>

<Are you certain about this, Aneyama?> Tygan asked calmly.

<Did I fucking stutter?!> Goro snapped, throwing his bulky arms out.

Tygan nodded. <Very well then. Mender Polendina, if you will please bear witness and officiate, and if someone else would please help set up our duel, that would be much appreciated.>

Penny and two other weavers came up to draw a circle and barrier just outside of the tent, Tygan and Goro inside of it.

“This probably isn’t going to end well for him, isn’t it?” Weiss asked.

“Definitely not!” Winter said, before she smiled. “If it’s anything like Queensguard screening, though, it’s going to be extremely entertaining, at the least...”

The rest of the class seemed to agree, excited chatter and what sounded like talk about bets already starting, especially among those who knew either Goro or Tygan already. Weiss looked around and shook her head, declining when someone asked if she wanted to throw some money in the growing pot.

The barrier went up, at the barest minimum regulation would allow for two combatants. There was barely any place to move around in, close quarters engagement all but inevitable, little to no time to dodge any projectiles thrown, and absolutely no space to outrun all but the smallest of explosions or area-of-effect spells.

The two combatants put their masks on, pulled their hoods up, and had their respective spotters search and remove any accessories or weapons that weren’t allowed, or would prove a hindrance. As they hauled out of the barrier, Weiss and Winter looked at the combatants in turn:

Tygan, lean but muscular, his “coat” really more just a loose hooded vest, and equally loose pants. There were metallic threads and intricate designs on the fabric, and his rope belt had pulsing, enchanted fibers woven into it, but otherwise, there wasn’t much that would protect him from a direct hit, physical or magical.

Goro, stocky, his muscles thick and bulging, his coat covering his whole body, and adorned with numerous armour plates on non-flexible sections, most prominently his breastplate. Silvery lines covered the ceramic-like material, repaired cracks from battles and incidents long ago.

<Last chance if you want to back out, Aneyama!> Tygan called out, loud enough for all to hear. <No shame in passing on a fight when you know there’s nothing worth fighting for.>

<Oh, shut up, and let’s do the stupid ritual!> Goro yelled, punching his palm.

Unfazed, Tygan shrugged, and said, <Alright!>

Penny lead the pre-duel rites and projected a timer from her tail: 5:00. The audience started to cheer and howl as the two fighters got into their stances: Goro roared and slammed a foot on the ground as he threw his arms out, hands and the blood red “eyes” of his mask exploding in flames; and Tygan calmly spread his hooves apart, moved his open palms up to his chest.

One of the spotters blew the dueling horn, and Goro figuratively and literally exploded into action.

_Fwoosh! Fwoosh!_

He swung his arms wide through the air, throwing out five fireballs each time!

Tygan barely moved his hands, every single one of the projectiles suddenly violently veering off-course, exploding harmlessly on the barrier.

Goro roared as he charged Tygan with his fists swinging, flames raging from his knuckles to his shoulders, fiery explosions filling the barrier as he punched, lunged, smashed, and grappled with him. Tygan dodged and weaved around each and every single strike, ducking and bending his body at dramatic angles and elaborate poses, seemingly disappearing into thin air as he escaped Goro’s grasp and circled around and behind him.

<Hahaha! Teach is just straight fucking with him!> one student cried.

<Go Goro!> another one cried mockingly. <Flail harder, you’ll get him eventually!>

Goro howled in rage, exploding into white-hot flames; he cocked his arm, a brilliant flash erupting from his fist as he threw a flaming haymaker at Tygan!

_Boom._

The students shielded their eyes, or cried out as they were temporarily blinded. A section of the barrier broke, thick white smoke pouring out of the breach before it quickly healed. Inside, Goro waved an arm in front of him as he shook his punching hand, his whole body glowing with faint red, magical residue.

The air suddenly cleared, the blinding smoke exploding out from the top of the barrier like a volcano; at its base, Tygan, calmly whisking his glowing hands up in turn, completely, absolutely untouched.

Goro stared at him, slack-jawed, before he glanced at the timer:

0:37

He turned back to Tygan, looking straight at him with his “smiling” mask, his arms spread wide as he made a “Come at me” gesture with his palms.

Goro roared, pounding his fists on his chest, the lines of red magic all over his body glowing painfully bright, fire shooting out from the silver seams in his armour, his whole figure enveloped in brilliant white flames.

He jumped up and raised his fists, slammed them both into the ground and sent a giant wall of fire and molten earth exploding out around him!

Tygan swept his foot in front of him, the burning shockwave blown away just before it reached him, the molten rocks flying to the side and breaking harmlessly on the shield. Then, he threw his glowing arms out, a ball of yellow, crackling magic spreading out around him, going past Goro, and sticking to the edges of the barrier, the inside now tinted in Tygan’s topaz yellow magic.

Goro snarled as he pulled himself out of the new crater in the ground, angrily pounding his fists on the dirt, before he suddenly gasped, clutched at his neck. His flames died out quickly as they burned through what little oxygen was left in the bubble, the red lines of mana all over his body rapidly faded. He frantically raised a violently trembling hand, the tip of his finger glowing in ever intenser red...

_Pew!_

Tygan didn’t even need to move as the feeble laser Goro shot at him missed completely.

The timer hit 0:00, one of the spotters blew the horn. The arena was filled with a loud, rushing sound as Tygan dispelled his magic completely, Goro gasped, coughed, and violently trembled, curling up into a ball as he hyperventilated.

Tygan stepped out of the dirt circle and left Goro to the spotters and Penny, taking his mask off to reveal the same pleasant expression as always. <Does anyone else want to try today?> he asked, holding his arms out. <You get a single chance every session, whenever you please!>

No one took him up on it.

<No takers?> Tygan shrugged, before casually thumbing behind him to the track. <Then all of you, except the spotters, Polendina, and Aneyama on the track, _now,_ please _._ >

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Vacuum Field is rarely, if ever used in real combat situations, as it can be easily escaped if used without the help of other physical/magical barriers, and the spell itself requires constant, intensely focused channeling by an air weaver to prevent new air coming in, much more for the time it would take for all the oxygen levels to deplete so dramatically that living beings aside from the weaver start to suffocate.
> 
> Unless they were being completely protected or unseen, the channeling can be disrupted very easily, and the spell will fail nigh instantly.
> 
> Air weavers are able to control their breathing extensively, to very dramatic effect at higher levels of skill. This is what allows them to completely hold their breath without ill-effects for stealth, survive poisoning by gas if they are unable to simply vent it or sustain a field of clean air around them, or stuff extremely, ill-advisedly large portions/servings of food in their mouths in one go.
> 
> Bee is still at Initiate level, but at the cusp of graduating to Adept, likely within the next few years after continued apprenticeship under Aeilana. The rest of the class still have a decade or so to go, excluding Weiss and Winter who are exceptional cases.
> 
> Tygan is already at Adept level, and remains under Primal Wenua as a post-graduate, assistant teacher. He is 25, and currently has no solid plans for trying to qualify for Master’s Rites.
> 
> There is no set minimum age for graduating to Adept, but the average age is 20, standard deviation of 3 or so years.
> 
> Only a very small percentage of Weavers ever graduate to the level of Master. Alongside having exceptional skill that far exceeds your peers', you need to have proved that you can apply said powers to the betterment of Fae society in a significant manner, and earn an endorsement from an unbiased source.
> 
> This can involve training the newer generations of weavers and pass on your expertise (which can take decades of work, but is considered one of the two surest paths), but it can also be earned through exceptional combat records on the field or even just in the Pits (controversial and easily contested, but relatively faster and easier); through inventions, innovations, and advances in magitech and/or arcane theory (the second surest); outstanding service during a time of crisis (heavily reliant on luck and preparation); or a combination of any of the above.
> 
> The endorsement generally comes from a current, retired, or only recently deceased (within five years from their officially recorded date of death) Master Weaver, but non-weaver Fae of sufficiently high standing and influence in the society can endorse someone for the Master’s Rites all the same. In either case, however, there is still a screening board made of Adepts, Masters, and chosen individuals from the other Orders, though an endorsement from a Master Weaver tends to go much smoother.
> 
> The actual Rites tend to be a heavily guarded secret, mostly known only to Master’s, the most senior Chroniclers, and the Council, though there are allegedly several variations and ancient temples used for the ritual all over the Valley and the Cradle. There is no stigma to having failed a Master’s Rite, and it is generally considered an honorable distinction all on its own.
> 
> Once the title is earned, a Weaver can never be stripped of it, regardless of what they do afterward. The folks who endorsed them are rarely, if ever blamed or stigmatized if a weaver’s career tanks, or they go Rogue after achieving Master status.
> 
> As far as everyone’s concerned, as soon as you begin the Rites proper, everything you do from then on is entirely your responsibility, and no one else’s. 
> 
> Glynda earned the privilege to go through her Rite through her teaching work, and her experience with the Watchers, as a field soldier and as an administrator/officer. Aeilana’s was through a lifetime of Watcher service as both a warrior and trainer, along with several successful high risk missions/expeditions over the years, generally during the Flood.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for late update, life and such.

<DIE! DIE! DIE, DAMN IT!> Goro shouted as he stood on top of a wooden pole, blasting at the hordes of foot-large, bird-like golems swarming around him, pecking at or gleefully hurling themselves at the barrier emanating from the pole’s runes.

_Crash!_

One section burst open, the elementals rushed in like air into a vacuum. Goro roared as he blasted the invaders with a massive jet of flame, nigh-instantly incinerating the ones who’d gotten in, the fire quickly spreading among the rest of the horde.

<HAHA, _FUCK OFF! > _Goro yelled, grinning as he threw an explosive fireball at them, blasting a good chunk of them into little pieces of burnt wood and singed plant matter… and dramatically widening the breach in the shield, too.

The smile on his face disappeared as the golems charged back in, stronger than ever, pecking at and ramming into the beams keeping the pole up. Goro frantically shot at them with laser beams, but the pole was already starting to rock back and forth.

<MO-THER- _FUCKERRR…! >_ Goro howled as it finally tipped over.

Beneath him, the hordes spread out and made room, before waiting for him with wide-open beaks...

_Whoosh!_

Sayuri blasted a thick slab of wood with a cyclone from her hands! It flew backwards on its track, until it stopped, and slowly started to move towards her. Sayuri kept on blasting it, eyes occasionally glancing at the one minute timer on the side; by 37 seconds, her arms started to shake from strain, sweat started to pour down her skin, and the slab inched ever faster.

Sayuri yelped and thrust her arms out further, the vortex cyclone growing stronger, larger, and more chaotic, but the slab just kept on going…

_SLAM!_

A “spider” golem stomped one of its legs into the grass, Weiss just barely jumped out of the way, landing prone on the ground. It lifted it up and prepared to strike again, Tiki, Wala, Nunu, and Mei-Mei swooped in and took her away to safety, the rest of Winter’s summons rushing in and formed a wall between them and the golem.

From her position on a balcony high above the arena, Winter smiled as she watched the Tetra-Tropica set Weiss safely back down on her feet, before a loud splash and agonized whinny wiped it right off her face. _“Bubblegum’s down!”_ she shouted into her comm-crystal. “Tetra-Tropica, run interference! Weiss, get ready ASAP, we can’t afford another casualty!”

“I know!” Weiss shouted back hoarsely, before she ripped off a mana water bottle from her belt, shoved it under her mask and into her lips, and tilted her head back.

She spluttered, gagging at the taste and the sensation of so much mana surging down her throat for who-knew- _what_ -time this fight _alone_ , but she choked it down, threw the bottle away as her hands glowed bright blue once more.

“ _Ready?”_ Winter asked.

“ _Ready!”_ Weiss shouted back.

Winter started barking new orders, her four summons and Weiss pulled back, surrounding the golem on all sides. The “eyes” all over its body watched them warily, guarded the one remaining weak spot on its underside. Tension filled the air as the Schnees and their summons started to glow and focus their power, the lines of mana in their bodies surging and roiling.

“ _NOW!”_

Armin the Armadillo curled up into a ball and dashed forward, slamming into the golem full-force like a wave! Two of its legs went airborne, Tetra-Tropica grabbed them and kept them up, the other summons striking the golem again, or biting down on its other two legs before freezing themselves in place. The spider violently struggled and kicked, its eyes frantically darting around as its weak point was completely exposed.

Weiss screamed as she dashed forward, launched herself into up into the air with a pillar of ice, bringing her hands together and turning them into a sharp icicle!

_Crack!_

The spider broke free, and didn’t hesitate to bring its legs down on Weiss, swatting her into a new crater in the ground.

Tygan winced and frowned as he watched via holo, before turning his attention to other the live-feeds, watching Goro nurse and fix numerous beak-shaped bite wounds on his body and armour; technicians pulling Sayuri out from the two wooden blocks she was sandwiched between; and the progress in all the other training exercises he was currently putting his students through.

A call request popped up beside him, he glanced at the ID, before answering it. <Is there an emergency, Mender?> he asked.

<No, nothing of the sort, Weaver,> Penny replied. <It’s just that I’ve noticed that all of your students seem to be consistently sustaining _numerous_ injuries over the course of their exercises, emotional distress aside. I do not mean to question your authority nor your qualifications, Weaver Tygan, but perhaps the intensity and danger levels could be lowered…?>

Tygan thought it over for a moment, before shook his head, and replied, <No, I don’t think so, Mender. _Besides,_ this is combat training! > His eyes opened up to reveal gleaming topaz eyes. <What’s the _point_ if someone doesn’t get _hurt?_ _>_

<Fair enough, Weaver,> Penny said politely. <Thank you for listening to my request.>

<Any time, Mender!> Tygan said, before he disconnected, and went back to watching the holos.

By 6 PM, everyone was back underneath their tent, having walked, limped, or been carried there by their fellows or elementals. All of them were filthy with sweat, small bloodstains, grass-stains, tree sap, mud, and/or magical residue; sitting slumped, leaning against someone else or a tree, or just laid out on the ground; and with quite a few half-naked to put ice packs, hot towels, or medicine on themselves or others.

Tygan was standing up front like before, his hands behind his back as he gazed out at all of them. <Well, this has been an exciting, enlightening, and entertaining first day, hasn’t it?>

Groans and complaints rose up from the class, a few of them threw out half-hearted elemental shots again; Tygan didn’t even have to move as they all fizzled or burned up well before they could even reach him.

<Rest assured, things will be getting _much_ more fun in the coming meetings!> Tygan continued. <All of your exercises today are just evaluative tests, meant for me to see if you’re all really everything your original instructors said you were, find out where you excel, and more importantly, where you lack! I can assure you that as early as our next meeting in four-five days, you’ll all start enjoying specially tailored exercises and sets, according to your specific needs.

<However, since I’m still only the one instructor, and the whole Terrace will be sharing space and equipment while the Water Quadrant’s closed, there’ll still be the usual team exercises and group activities where I expect all of you to take your educations into your hands, or hand-equivalents.

<So, try and get to know your classmates, especially over this long break!> Tygan said throwing his hands out and smiling brightly. <Aside from the fact that you’ll probably be working with or leading them in group exercises soon, you never know when they might be the key to your graduating from this class!

<See you all again in an hour, everyone~> he hummed, before he waved goodbye and left.

Groans and sighs of relief filled the air as most of the class got up, either heading to the nearest communal dining area, or some other place to spend their long break. The Schnees joined the former crowd, with Penny on Weiss’ back once more, a power cable attached to her and running into the bucket full of mana water Winter’s summons were soaking in.

<Cripes, this sure as shit is one way to get students to want to graduate ASAP...> someone mumbled.

<Is it just me, or does anyone miss when class involved a whole lot of reading assignments and talking?> someone else asked.

<It’s just you,> a third said. <Guh, Teach being a fucking _sadist_ or no, I’d still take a _guaranteed_ 8 hours of straight action, two days a week.>

A murmur of agreement came from most of the class.

<Anyway, anyone want to join forces? I’ve got ideas on how to get a scratch on Weaver Tygan, but I’m gonna need help doing it.>

Weiss watched as a couple of Fae took up the offer, and the rest started to form their own groups and chat. With Penny charging, so many conversations going on all at once, and how drained she was from the exercises, it was all but impossible for her to make heads or tails of what anyone was saying, let alone try to find some way to gracefully enter the conversation.

“Do you think it’s just going to come down to the two of us to pass Weaver Tygan’s test?” Weiss asked.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Winter replied. “In my experience, a language barrier certainly makes interaction and cooperation _difficult_ , but not impossible, so I’m sure we’ll both find allies here in time.”

Weiss nodded. “Here’s to hoping,” she said.

* * *

However much of a problem the emergency relocation and crowding was in many respects, there seemed to be at least one unquestionably positive side to it: luxurious, diverse, and _generous_ spreads at the public buffets.

<Take your pick, take your pick, I guarantee you we’ve got something for everyone!> cried a weaver standing on a post above the long tables of food and drinks, helping control the masses of hungry Fae in need of a high-calorie snack, or an early dinner. <Oi, oi, oi!> she cried, shining a spotlight with her claw, the fins on her head flaring up. <This is the _third_ time I’ve seen you four back there, give someone else a chance to get some, why don’t you?>

If everyone had to grab their own individual servings, the one hour or so they all had for break wouldn’t have been nearly enough, but it seemed that almost everyone was grabbing baskets and trays to bring back to their seated companions, asking to join groups with free space and food, or were explicitly invited in by friends and strangers alike.

Weiss and Winter stood just outside of the sea of Fae, debating whether they should attempt to join the crowds coming in, or just ask around with the many groups already seated.

<Yo, Weiss, Winter!> a familiar voice shouted over the crowds. <Over here! We got room and food, if you want it!>

Weiss looked, try to peer into the crowds, before sighing and turning to Winter. “It’s Nami,” she said, pointing. “Should we join her?”

“So long as we both agree not to drink anything she offers us,” Weiss said.

Winter nodded, and lead her through the crowds, to a section among where the magitech and projects being tinkered on seemed to outnumber the folks and the trays of food.

<Sup, Raindrop, Big Raindrop!> Nami said as she stood on top of Cheska’s shoulders, waving with one hand as her other rested on top of Cheska’s head.

Calmly munching on her seaweed wrap, Cheska raised a hand and waved also.

<Hello, Nami, Cheska!> Weiss said as she and Winter found free spaces and sat down. <Thank you for inviting us.>

<No problem! We’re all water weavers here, we should always be coming together.> Nami said as she climbed off Cheska’s shoulders, and back to the spot next to her. <Now come on, eat, eat! You both must be right-ready to chew on the barrels after your Cap’n sanded you down to the grain.>

<Say _what_ now?> Weiss asked as she started building her own seaweed wrap.

Cheska took a hand of her wrap, projected a holo, and typed, “She said, ‘You both must be starving after how hard your teacher worked you earlier.’”

“What is this, _slang?”_ Winter asked.

“Nomadic Celestian Fae, yes,” Cheska replied. “Just so you know, if I’m not around, Bee’s just as able to translate.”

Weiss nodded as she looked around. “Where is she, anyway?”

“Networking,” Cheska replied, before turning the holo to Nami and translating for her.

Nami suddenly started giggling.

<What’s so funny?> Weiss asked as she and Winter brought their wraps to their mouths.

<Oh, just that ‘Networking’ is a pretty funny way to call Bee’s trying to get some motion in her ocean,> Nami said, bursting into renewed giggles.

Cheska groaned loudly and shook her head, Weiss and Winter turned to her, curious. “Should we ask…?” Winter asked.

“NO.” Cheska typed.

Winter and Weiss nodded, and returned to their food.

<So! Enough talk about who is and who isn’t around, how’s the water been your stretch of this sea on this voyage?> Nami asked, before she took a sip out of her cup of tea.

“She asked ‘How’s your day been so far?’” Cheska typed, before taking a bite out of her wrap.

Weiss groaned. She chewed through her mouthful and replied, <To be honest, I don’t want to talk about it...>

<And to be honest, I want to hear _all_ about it!> Nami said, her eyes brightening. <Shit hasn’t been _this_ interesting in our class ever since the twins came along! >

“We could help offer some solutions and tips, too,” Cheska added, nodding. “I mean, at the very least, we’ve been in training longer than both of you, and are more familiar with how it works.”

“She has a very good point,” Winter said.

Weiss sighed. “Fine,” she said, before with Cheska’s help translating back and forth, she and Winter told them about their hellish training earlier that day.

<Huh!> Nami said by the end of it. <Seems like you two need plenty of hands on deck, if you want to make it back to port!>

“She said, ‘I feel like you two really need help from others, if you’re ever going to graduate.’”

<We are planning to use more of our off-hours to learning Actaeon, actually, and try to make some allies while they’re still around,> Winter replied.

<Yeah, a solid crew’s all well and good, Big Raindrop, but you’re gonna need so much more than that!> Nami said, patting her potion satchel nearby. <You all good on supplies? Pretty sure you’re going to need at least plenty of sore-stiff ointment, when the tide rolls back in.>

“That last part meant, ‘When the consequences of training finally come around, full-force.’”

<I’ve already got plenty in stock, thanks, and can make more myself,> Weiss said.

<Yeah, but what if you mess up and it ends up turning into an elemental again?> Nami asked playfully. <Best to be sure and have a professional do it for you, eh, Raindrop?>

Weiss scowled. <That was an ACCIDENT, before we realized I had powers to begin with!> she snapped.

Cheska waved put down her wrap and waved her hand in front of Weiss, her other hurriedly typing “I think what she’s TRYING to imply is that she really wants to use your lab back at Keeper’s Grove.”

Weiss blinked, and relaxed. <You want to use my lab?>

<Aye,> Nami said, before she turned to Cheska, and said, <Did you really have to raise my roger? Asking straight up isn’t as fun.>

<Do you think risking getting smacked for accidentally offending someone is ‘fun?’> Cheska typed back.

<Uh, aye...?> Nami replied, confused.

Cheska just groaned and shook her head again.

Nami turned back to Weiss. <Anywho: can I do a deep dive at your brewer’s over short-shore leave? Heard it’s sweet as.>

“She said ‘Can I use your lab over for a few days? I hear it’s very impressive.’”

Weiss spent a few minutes trying to formulate a response in her head, before she turned to Cheska and said, “Can you please tell her, ‘No offense to you, Nami, but I don’t trust you well enough with my stuff to let you use it, especially in a place as prone to accidents and unexpected catastrophe’s as Keeper’s Grove.’?”

Cheska did, and afterwards, Nami said, <Eh, suit yourself, Raindrop! Just know that if the winds shift, you’ve got my deets!>

“She said, ‘If you ever change your mind or your circumstances change, you know how to contact her.”

<I’ll keep it in mind,> Weiss said. <So, how’s your training been?>

Cheska and Nami shared their experience volunteering their talent and magic to the reconstruction effort, and the equipment and supplies being used by all the temporary laboratories, classes, and training areas, until a bell rang, and several birds in the area started cawing, <15 minutes! 15 minutes till the hour!>

<Welp, time to raise anchor and set sail, Raindrop!> Nami said as she shotgunned the last of her glass of tea, before she got up on her and slung her bag over her shoulder. <Till the tides bring us together again!> she said as she left.

“She says ‘It’s time to go, see you next time,’” Cheska said as she got up herself, turned off her holo.

<See you two, thanks again for the seats and the food,> Weiss said. “Oh, and Cheska?”

“Hmm?” Cheska went, looking at them pointedly.

“What does <Raindrop> and <Big Raindrop> mean and why does Nami keep using it?” Weiss asked.

“I’ve been quite curious as well,” Winter added.

Cheska smiled, and started typing, “<Raindrop> is a slang term for water weavers who are weak and new, and aren’t much more dangerous or useful than an actual, single raindrop. <Big Raindrop> means they’re older than usual. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll start calling you the better nicknames soon enough,” she said, smiling as she off her holo, and waved goodbye.

Weiss and Winter waved back, before they rinsed off their hands, picked up Penny and the bucket. “Ready for the second half of our training from hell?” Winter asked as they walked.

Weiss sighed, and raised her fist, a small smile on her face. “Let’s do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Chew on the barrels” came from starving Fae sailors so desperate for food that they would lick, or even chew on the wooden barrels that their food was stored in for any last trace of nutrition, or alternatively, as a last resort for fiber and cellulose.
> 
> “Sanded down to the grain” came from the Fae practice of painting on and growing numerous protective and beautifying substances and organisms on the hulls of their ships, to serve as added protection against the elements, or to help sustain the on-board systems. As you might expect, these layers were meant to last as long as the ship was seaworthy, and removing them right down to the wooden base beneath would take plenty of skill, specialized equipment, and a WHOLE lot of time.
> 
> Depending on the context, it can be used to imply being overworked or overworking someone, that a task is incredibly boring and laborious, or that something isn’t worth the effort and time required.
> 
> “Raise the Roger” was derived from Old World humans practice, of broadcasting a false ID signal that gave you cover as a civilian ship, until you either got close enough for the ruse to be found out, or you intentionally identified yourself as a pirate. Even further back, it was based on the “Jolly Rogers” of pirates during the age of wooden galleons and sea travel, long before space travel was even plausible let alone possible.
> 
> “Get some motion in (your/their) ocean” means looking for sex or romance, generally in your off-duty hours. While it can refer to serious, committed relationships as much as casual, short term flings, it’s more often used in the latter context. No guesses as to why it’s phrased that way.
> 
> A “deep dive” is long and oftentimes hard work, generally uninterrupted over the course of several hours or even days. It can also be used to refer to bingeing on something, or used sarcastically to imply that someone hasn’t read up or learned as much as they should have, i.e. “Aye, I bet you dove real deep into the manual, didn’t ye?”
> 
> “Brewer’s” refers to alchemical labs, which the Nomadic Celestian Fae frequently use to brew alcohol for pleasure, business, or both. Given the enchanted nature of many of their drinks, “Liquid Courage” can just as easily mean someone downing an alcoholic drink that grants them immense power, as someone who’s drunk and doing an incredibly stupid, dangerous act that they would not sober.
> 
> “Short-Shore Leave” is a few day’s break, the weekend, or a brief lull in an otherwise eventful and oftentimes unpleasant week, month, or even year. It does not have to actually refer to a physical location that the folks stop and rest at, but it’s also oftentimes used alongside slang for nooks and crannies of the ship used for unofficial recreation.
> 
> “Sweet as” never has an object at the end. “That ship is sweet as.” is considered a complete sentence.
> 
> “Deets” is short for “details.”
> 
> Bee actually IS out networking. It just so happens that some of them end up in her professional contacts, and others end up in her more private lists, whom she has no qualms asking out on dates or having sex with.


	24. Chapter 24

_Crack!_

The spider golem’s last weak point shattered, it frantically, uselessly flailed about before it fell over on its back, legs curling up into itself as it deactivated. Weiss smiled as she ripped her runeblade out from it, held it up into the air as all six of Winter’s summons joined her and posed beside their “kill.”

Winter cheered from her place on the balcony above, Tygan just nodded his head, and switched to the other feeds in front of him.

_Thoom!_

Sayuri sent the wooden slab rocketing back with a compressed air explosion, before she thrust out the hand her “spitter” was mounted on. The weapon whirred and screamed like a miniature jet engine, a cyclone exploding out and blasting the slab. Her arm wavered slightly, Sayuri braced it against her other wrist, and the slab didn’t move an inch for the rest of the minute.

_Boom! Boom! Boom!_

Goro stood at the pole again with his cannon this time, raining fiery balls of death down on the golems swarming around him, the hapless constructs exploding into smouldering pieces and ash before they could even get close to the barrier.

<Come on! _Come on! >_ he yelled, taking a hand off his cannon to beat his breastplate. <Let ‘em at me, set ‘em _all_ loose, this shit is _too fuckin’ easy! >_

 _< We’re not sending any more golems at you __until you dial it back_ _! > _cried one of the technicians via comm-crystal. _< You’re breaking them too badly, __we won’t be able to recycle even half of the ones you’ve already busted! >_

 _< Fuck you!>_ Goro snapped back. <What’s the point of training if you don’t always put your 110% into it?!>

 _< That’s enough, Aneyama,> _Tygan interrupted calmly. _<_ _You can get off the pole now_ _, you’ve already got full marks for this test. >_

<Tch,> Goro said, shaking his head as he holstered his cannon over his back. <Next time you want me to break out my big guns, bring out the bigger golems, too!>

 _< I’ll keep it mind,> _Tygan said. _< For now, get started on your cooldown.>_

Goro jumped off the pole and back to the ground, the clean-up crew gave him dirty looks as he passed them by; he just smiled, admiring the smoking ground, smouldering wreckage, and numerous craters left in his wake.

By 9:30PM, all of Tygan’s students were back underneath their tent, in much higher spirits, and with far less injuries or wounds to be treated by Penny, or the others—and even then, they were usually from accidents, overexertion, or bruises and cuts from earlier acting up. Lively conversation abounded, folks bragging about how well they had done on a certain test, complimenting others, and discussing plans for future lessons.

Meanwhile, Tygan was in the corner, sitting on a large root with Penny, reviewing the statistics and the footage, talking with her in hushed tones. Eventually he got up and strolled back into the front of the class, clapping his hands for attention, waiting for the hubbub to die down before he spoke.

<I have to say, everyone: I’m impressed!> he said. <All across the board, you’ve all done spectacularly with this round of evaluative tests, most of you scoring well above the average or better. I can really see why your peers, families, and mentors thought you’d be best off in a special, focused combat class like this!>

Folks cheered this time, beaming and soaking in the praise, giving out high fives and other friendly gestures..

<And on that same note, I now know _exactly_ why you’re all still going to be Initiates for a long time yet!> Tygan said cheerfully, before his eyes opened, his mouth curled into a scowl, and his voice became deathly serious. <Because without your foci, almost all of you suck, and suck _hard. >_

All the smiles were suddenly wiped off faces, the students looked at Tygan in a mix of confusion or indignation.

<Adept and Master Weavers uses their foci as an extension of their body and power, _not_ as a _crutch_ nor _compensation_ for their failings and lack. Your weapons and tools are supposed to _amplify_ your natural capabilities to greater heights and allow you to take on incredible challenges, _not_ ensure that you can reliably pass the most basic batteries of evaluative tests!

<I get it: you are Watchers, you are Pit fighters, you are Makers. You live and die by the quality of your tools, by the skill with which you wield them, and by the echoes they have gained under you, and whoever else may have used them before. But you are all also Weavers, and there is no putting away, no unloading, no blunting the most dangerous weapons you have:

<Yourselves.>

Tygan closed his eyes again, his frown turning into a neutral line, his voice flat as he said, <In time, you all have the potential to become truly great, ready to fight, defend, and change this realm, for fame or infamy… but before all that, you must learn to control that power, _with_ or _without_ the help of your foci.

<Remember this: the Primals are not in their positions because they can unleash power like the most devastating storms and phenomenon in nature; they are there because they know when to stay their wrath, when and how much of a percentage of their power to use, and when to unleash fury like Avalon herself.

<And with that: you are all dismissed! I will inform you all within two days time when our next session will be, and if you have any other inquiries, please send me a message via my public line, and I will get back to you tomorrow morning by 8AM at the very latest.>

Tygan bowed, the class stood up and did the same, before he turned around and left, gracefully launching himself up into the tree tops, before hopping from branch to branch, leaving a stunned, silent, and scowling class in his wake.

<Well, shit got heavy real fast—who’s up for drinks?!> someone cried. <Last one not under the table gets a free pass on the bill!>

<You’re on!> Goro said, grinning as he stepped up to them.

They blanched immediately. _< Hell no, _Goro! Not you! You stay away from this, I _like_ my regular!>

<Well maybe you should have thought of that before you sent an open invite to everyone, ah?!> Goro snapped, hunching his shoulders.

Winter shook her head, wrapping a shoulder around Weiss and coaxing her away from the rapidly heating up argument.

Penny floated up to them and asked, “Would either of you like to join your classmates for dinner, or their other recreational activities? It would be an _excellent_ opportunity to strengthen bonds and make potentially helpful connections in the future.”

Weiss yawned, and shook her head. “Maybe some other day…” she mumbled. “I am _so_ ready to be completely, absolutely done with today...”

“Winter?” Penny asked.

“I think Weiss needs me more than I need to start making a new professional network,” Winter replied, patting Weiss on her arm. “On a related note: you think you can make it all the way back home like this, little sister?”

“So long as we can take the teleporter back...” Weiss mumbled, before she yawned again. “I want to walk as little as possible from here on out...”

“I’m afraid the teleportation functionality is severely limited for the moment, due to the repairs in the Water Quadrant diverting majority of the resources and mana of the Terrace,” Penny said.

Weiss groaned. “Great...”

“Guess we’re just going to have to do this the old fashioned way,” Winter said, shrugging before she knelt down to the ground.

Weiss stared at her in disbelief. “Are you _seriously_ going to give me a piggyback ride back home?”

“Are you going to refuse?” Winter replied calmly.

“No.” Weiss said, fixing up the contents of her belt, before wrapping her arms around Winter’s shoulders.

“Huh, this is strange...” Winter said as she grabbed Weiss’ legs and stood up.

“What is…?” Weiss mumbled as she nestled her head on her shoulder.

“It’s been a decade and a half since I last did this, and it’s still just as easy as it was then!” Winter hummed. “It’s like you’ve _barely_ grown at all, little sister.”

Weiss scowled. “Oh, screw you...” she mumbled, before she quickly fell asleep, smiling.

* * *

A little over an hour later, Weiss was standing alone on the balcony of her and Winter’s home, dressed in her nightgown with one of her jackets thrown over it, leaning on the railing with a cup of black moss tea in hand.

She wasn’t doing much but sip and maybe gaze around for interesting sights in the Grove, until her comm-crystal beeped, with a message from Ruby: _“On nightwatch. Super bored. Want to talk for a while?”_

Weiss smiled, and replied, “Text or talk?”

“ _Talk. I need to keep my hands free for my farsighter.”_

Weiss took a sip from her tea, and established a connection; soon enough, the holo in front of her showed Ruby standing on the edge of a rail, her hood up and her cloak tied tight around her. “Hey Weiss!” she said, waving and smiling at her, before she put a telescope-like device to her eye.

“Good evening, Ruby,” Weiss said, nodding. “Sure you’re not going to get in trouble for this?”

“Nope!” Ruby said, still looking through her farsighter. “I’m really only supposed to be a fail-safe, Iaros is the one we expect to catch anything suspicious out here.”

“Who’s Iaros?”

Ruby spared a hand to move her holo around, Weiss saw a rather large, hawk-like creature, jet black eyes, a sharp-hooked beak, prominent talons, and bright, fiery feathers. She shuddered, and said, “Yeesh, security crystals not intimidating enough for you Fae, huh?”

“Nope!” Ruby said, turning the holo back to herself. “It really helps with keeping wild animals from trying to sneak onto our convoys and into the supplies, having an apex predator keep guard. Though, he’s mostly just been eating domesticated meat and treats, since we still have plenty of animal repellents, there’s still a lot of us traveling together, and we’re not in the _really_ wild zones yet.

“Anyway, enough about me: what’s up on your end? Penny hasn’t updated me on today yet, and I won’t really have the time to catch up for a while, anyway.”

Weiss sighed. “Just the usual, with life and the universe screwing with me… I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Is it because it hurts to talk about it, or because you don’t want to bog me down with your baggage?” Ruby asked. “Because if it’s the second, I’m 100% open to hearing you out and lightening your load.”

“Are you sure about that?” Weiss asked. “It’s going to be about an hour, hour and a half worth of griping.”

Ruby chuckled. “I’m sure—that is what girlfriends do, right?”

Weiss blushed and looked away. “Well, if you’re so willing...” she muttered, before she gave her an abbreviated account of the day’s events, up until Winter’s giving her a piggyback ride back home.

“Wow,” Ruby said. “Pretty much just all action, combat, and the Pits since you woke up this morning, huh? You sure you should still be up and talking to me, instead of getting some sleep?”

“I should be, but I can’t right now,” Weiss replied. “We were _starving_ by the time we got back, and myself and Winter proceeded to quite literally stuff our faces with as much food as we could fit in our mouths. By the time _my_ stomach finally sent the signal that it was time to _stop,_ it was already _way_ too late, so here I am now, standing out at our balcony, sipping coffee while I wait till it’s safe for me to lie down again.”

She sighed. “I’m really worried that this might be my new normal, when it comes to food.”

“Why?” Ruby asked. “I mean, I’m pretty sure you and dad are growing enough to feed all even without allowance from the Council, and Qrow, Blake, and Ren are able to hunt enough for everyone on the reg.”

“It’s not how we’re going to _get_ food that worries me, Ruby, it’s where all of it’s inevitably going to go,” Weiss grumbled, looking down at herself. “Penny assures me that most of it is going to end up metabolized and turned into mana, and that I can burn off the rest of the calories pretty quickly with spellcasting, but I’m concerned at just how much of both is going to happen while I still have this collar on,” she said, touching it.

“I might have to buy a new wardrobe for the meanwhile, and I’ve got this sinking feeling that Blake might have to permanently modify all my old clothes by the time this comes off!”

“I won’t mind if you gain some extra weight, Weiss,” Ruby said.

Weiss scowled. “Well _I_ do, and I know your intentions are good, but I’d rather not hear that from you, _especially_ because _your_ genetics lets you eat cookies on a daily basis, and still _keep_ your rock-hard, six-pack abs.”

She sighed heavily. “Anyway… how are things on your end?”

“Eh, pretty boring and tedious, actually,” Ruby said. “Lack of action aside, I miss you, and everyone else, too. This is actually the first time I’ve ever had an expedition where it’s just me that went, no close friends nor family.

“I mean—I’ve always accepted that there’s going to come a time where they might not be around, especially with how dangerous our jobs are, but when it actually happens… it’s never as easy as how you imagined it to be, you know…?”

“Do you want to talk about it, too...?” Weiss asked.

“Yeah but, I don’t really know where to start!” Ruby replied. “Kinda always relied on Penny for these things, seeing as it’s her job and all.”

“Maybe you could try one of your more memorable expeditions with them?” Weiss asked. “Or maybe your first trips together? Knowing you, there _have_ to be some interesting stories there.”

Ruby paused, then nodded. “Huh… now that you mention it, Blake _did_ start working with us because one of our old Keeper Team watchers quit on us, right on the eve of an important extended trip! How well she did then was how she became a permanent of the team now, actually.”

“Then would you mind telling me all about it?” Weiss said, smiling.

“Sure thing!” Ruby said, smiling and nodding. “It all started about a year ago...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since some of you have been politely asking me to show Ruby doing her Keeper duties, y'all are getting a flashback series of chapters.
> 
> A farsighter is not just a simple telescope, it also automatically “tags” points of interest and living beings, and with relatively modern developments, have been used to sync up the data to comm-crystals and improve information in the wilderness and the battlefield.
> 
> Weavers have VASTLY increased caloric needs than other Fae. Aside from mana water, many watcher-weavers are equipped with energy drinks made with it as a base in case of emergency, extra watcher chocolate bars and similar treats, and receive the lion’s share of food and hunts.
> 
> Few mind, as they can perform tasks by themselves that would take scores more of non-weavers to do, and not nearly as efficiently.
> 
> In case of emergency or times of scarcity, large amounts of sugar, be it lactose, sucrose, or fructose, can be used to refuel weavers instead of mana water. It’s not nearly as effective nor efficient, but if the situation requires you to desperately shovel table sugar down into your mouth before washing it all down with a fruit milkshake, most weavers don’t really care.
> 
> Not all weavers have sweet teeth, and a good chunk of them abhor the taste of mana water, which is generally sweet with additional flavours and undertones that are difficult to describe in Nivian, or translated Actaeon. There are actually some famous Primals, Masters, and notable Adepts who have gone to great lengths to avoid using it, try to make them more palatable to their taste, or both, to the point of inventing entirely new classes and types of beverages and alchemical products over the course of their research.
> 
> This is actually how the famous “Fireki’s Fizzy Fun” series of drinks was invented, when the creator Weaver Fireki Venquen tried and failed miserably to make viable variations of pure mana water, and proceeded to sell the prototypes to fund future research. She became ABSURDLY rich from it, but unfortunately never did manage to find those mythical formulas she was looking for, before she died.


	25. Chapter 25

<I’m really very sorry we have to part ways like this, Ruby...> Varryn said as they bowed, all of their belongings in a sack on their back, and the Grove’s Tube station behind them.

<It’s alright, Varryn, we all knew it was much more likely to end like this than not,> Ruby said, bowing back.

<I really do wish that I could have lasted longer in the team’s service, Ruby!> Varryn said as they bent back up. <You’ve been an excellent leader, both within and outside of the walls of the Bastion, and a great friend beside; and to say that the credentials and the experience I’ve acquired in my relatively short time with all of you will be invaluable for the rest of my life will be a _severe_ understatement!>

<Aww, thank you, Varryn!> Ruby replied, smiling now. <You’ve been a great team member and a wonderful friend, too. I’m sure we’d have had spent _way_ more time and had a _whole_ lot more stress trying to navigate, hunt, and trap in the wilds if we didn’t have your skills, not to mention your help with all the Big Game, like Grarr VII!>

The colour drained from Varryn’s face, particularly impressive due to the dark colour of their skin.

<Sorry.> Ruby whispered.

Varryn gulped down the lump that had formed in their throat, before awkwardly jerking a paw behind them. <I’m just going to be leaving now, Ruby… need to get settled in my new home, get my affairs here straightened out, before it’s back out to the wilds again!> they said, backpedaling to the Log that was awaiting them.

<Good luck with all that, Varryn!> Ruby cried, waving. <And if you ever need anything from us, don’t hesitate to call!>

<I won’t, thank you, Ruby!> Varryn shouted back, before they swiftly spun around, stuffed their sack of belongings as quickly as they could into the cargo hold, before diving in and strapping the belts in place all by themselves.

The two Tube technicians looked at each other, shrugged, and proceeded to shut the hatch on Varryn, before sending them out of Keeper’s Grove for the last time. Ruby stood where she was for a few moments, before she sighed, turned around, and went back to the house with her head hung.

As she stepped back into the living room, she found everyone still at the “command center,” a table set up with Ruby’s terminal, plus a handful of loaned units. Qrow was the first to look up from his screen, and waved at Ruby. “Welcome back, kiddo, got to say goodbye Varynn like you wanted?”

“Yep! Managed to screw it up, but hey, it’s not like we’ll probably be hearing or seeing from them any time soon!” Ruby said as she plunked herself down on her chair, and reactivated her terminal. “Thanks for the break, everyone, I really appreciate it.”

Penny bid farewell to whoever she was talking to, then smiled at Ruby. “You are welcome, Ruby, and please, think nothing of it! Proper closure is absolutely vital for mental and emotional health.”

Ruby nodded as she returned to her recently moved terminal, and resumed the search for Varryn’s replacement.

* * *

“… Thanks to filters, bots, and the Codex, it was easy to screen out almost all of the folks who were completely unqualified, or that we didn’t need as badly as a new wilderness expert, but there were still LOT of folks to screen, references to call up, and a couple of extra background checks to do.”

“I’m surprised that there’s actually so many Fae who want in on the Keeper Team,” Weiss said.

“It’s probably because of all the benefits!” Ruby replied. “The regular pay may be crap, and the job is difficult and dangerous, to say the least, but even if you only lasted a single season with us, that’s the same rep and credentials as you would have had if you spent a year—maybe two—only taking some of the highest risk jobs available in the Valley, nearly non-stop.

“And if you managed to help me put down a Soul Eater? Well, provided you could still fight and venture outside the walls after, the Roost and private contractors will pretty much let you set your own fee, among other things.”

“And if you haven’t had that distinction, and can’t continue working as a Watcher?”

“Then there’s hefty benefits you could live off of if you’re not too extravagant about living expenses, let alone the folks that’d _love_ to employ a former Keeper Team member for the PR points. And if you end up getting killed in action, whoever’s your beneficiaries will be pretty much set for life, and if you don’t have any, you’ll get a fancy, permanent memorial at the Roost—for some, that’s all they really want or need.

“Of course, there _are_ some folks that are just using it as a stepping stone for their careers—‘High Honour Hopefuls,’ we call them. After all, nothing pleases supporters, and looks _damn_ good on a public service record than helping keep Avalon from getting overrun by near-unstoppable monsters!

“Uncle Qrow _really_ doesn’t like it when we get them, though...”

* * *

“Fucking _hell,_ Penny, I thought you said you could screen out every single last one of these suck-ups!” Qrow griped as he angrily pressed the “reject” button, so hard his talon scratched the stone of the terminal underneath.

“I only said ‘Most of them,’ and I’m certain that your chronicle data will be concurrent with my own,” Penny replied coolly. “It’s not any fault of mine that some of them are able to avoid detection relying heavily on word and pattern recognition algorithms.”

“Heh, guess they wouldn’t be Honours if they couldn’t, huh?” Nora said playfully.

Qrow side-eyed her, before shaking his head.

“How many of them have you seen so far, Uncle Qrow?” Ruby asked.

“One, and that’s already one too many...” Qrow grumbled, before he sighed then started to shut down his terminal. “You know what? I’ve had enough of screening hopefuls today, I’m clocking out _.”_

“We _have been_ screening for several hours with just the bare minimum of breaks, it would indeed be wise to end now and resume tomorrow morning, to avoid unnecessary error and impaired judgment due to fatigue,” Penny said.

“Great, now it’s Mender’s orders, too!” Qrow said as he got up and stretched his legs. “Time for dinner—who’s turn was it, again?”

“I think it was Varryn’s, actually!” Ruby said as she and the others began to shut down their terminals, too.

“It was indeed!” Penny said. “So, with him gone, that means it’s Qrow on dinner duty, myself with dishes, and Ruby to attend to Zwei.”

Qrow paused for a moment, before he happy look on his face disappeared. “Ah, shit, you’re right...” he mumbled, before he dejectedly marched into the kitchen, pulling his flask out of his pocket as he did.

“We’ll help,” Ren said, as he and Nora got up, and followed him.

“And just so you know, I am _starving_ after all that work, so it’s gonna be a total crumb-pocalypse _tonight!”_ Nora said, chuckling.

“Please remember to pace yourself so you don’t end up with indigestion!” Penny called after them, waving, before she turned to Ruby. “Would you like some assistance with Zwei, Ruby? I was thinking of contacting some more character references before I stop completely myself, but I am willing to provide an extra hand and/or company, should you need or want it.”

“Nah, I’m good!” Ruby said as she pulled her cloak back on her shoulders and turned the hood up. “Besides, I wouldn’t mind some alone time with Zwei, he’s probably been so bored and lonely all day!” she said before she made for the door.

“If that’s what you wish, Ruby!” Penny said. “Don’t hesitate to call if you change your mind!”

“I won’t!” Ruby said, before she stepped out of the house and shut the door behind her, stood on the edge of the rail and yelled, _“Zwei_! We’re all done for today! We can go play now!”

She smiled as she leaned on the railing, gazing out at the overgrowth down below, waiting for Zwei to rip a new straight line through them in his rush. “Heh, he’ll probably leap all the way to the balcony and take me back down with him,” she thought, smiling.

The smile disappeared when she five minutes later, she didn’t see, hear, nor smell him. “Zwei!” Ruby called out again. **“Zwei!** Shift’s over today! Uncle Qrow’s already getting dinner! I’ll make _sure_ you get an extra serving tonight if you get back here within a minute! Counting down: 60… 59… 58...”

She peered out at the swamp, trying to notice anything off, closed her eyes and counted silently, skipped a few as she sniffed and tried to get even the vaguest whiff of Zwei’s powerful, unmistakable smell.

“… 3… 2… 1… 0!” Ruby cried. “Times up, Zwei! Maybe I’ll consider still giving those extra servings to you if you come back _right now…!”_

The door opened, Penny peered out. “Has Zwei still not returned, Ruby?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s really weird...” Ruby said, still looking out. “He’s never strayed that deep into the swamp without us, hasn’t he?”

“No, based on my own Chronicle, Qrow’s, and the previous chroniclers,” Penny replied.

Ruby turned around, the worry clear on her face. “Do you think he’s okay?”

“Most likely!” Penny said, smiling as she stepped out of the house and towards Ruby. “He’s an incredibly powerful, durable, and intelligent dog! That aside, it’s _highly_ probable that he’s found an incredibly comfortable, secluded spot and fell asleep there, and it just so happens that he can’t hear you.

“Shall we go look for him?” she added, putting a hand on Ruby’s shoulder and gesturing out to the swamp.

“Please,” Ruby said, heading to the boat-elevator.

“I will inform the others that we’ll be searching for Zwei, then will join you post-haste,” Penny said.

Soon, the both of them were wandering deep into the swamps surrounding Keeper’s Grove, beams of light shooting out of Penny’s unblinking eyes; her ears slowly rotating around her head like radar dishes; her mouth open and her hands cupped around it, and her tail in Ruby’s hand and leading up to her mouth as she used her like a megaphone.

“Zwei!” Ruby called out, her voice booming and echoing off the trees as they hopped and walked on the giant roots. “Zwei! Where are you?! I’m _really_ worried, boy!”

After yet another minute of silence, Ruby whined and let go of Penny’s tail. “He’s not answering or _anything!_ Do you think something bad happened? Should we call the others?!”

“It _is_ extremely concerning, but I urge you to please remain calm, Ruby,” Penny said as she put her hands off her mouth, shut off the spotlights in her eyes before she faced Ruby. “I’m going to contact them now, so we can get the equipment and the heads for a proper search.”

It was then that something fell from high up above, and noisily plopped into the water, followed by some leaves and branches that had been messily cut apart, likely by accident. Ruby and Penny both looked above, into the thick branches and leaves obscuring whatever was above, before turning to the water where the object had landed.

They shared a look with each other, before Penny reached in, and pulled out a black breakneck, now covered in swamp muck and dripping with water. She reactivated the lights in her eyes, Ruby frowned as she examined the weapon.

“This is Celestian made…” she muttered.

“Indeed,” Penny said, before she contacted the others back at the house. “Sorry to interrupt your dinner, everyone, but it appears that Zwei has found an intruder, possibly still armed and dangerous. Please prepare accordingly, bring the necessary detaining equipment, and alert the Roost.”

Qrow sighed. _“And of course it’s right as I sit down_ _and got my plate ready_ _… alright,_ _got your location_ _,_ _got a visual and any info for us_ _?”_

“No visual, and two things: there’s a good chance they’re from Celestion, and down a primary weapon,” Ruby said, holding up the breakneck for the others.

“ _Oooh, a possible assassination attempt!”_ Nora chimed in, her mouth obviously full of cookies. _“Isn’t this_ exciting, _Ren?! I mean, it’s not great_ _obviously_ _, but we get to check this off our milestone list of being with the Keepers!”_

“ _I suppose so, Nora,”_ Ren said. _“ETA 25 minutes—you want us to bring anything else alongside your gear, Ruby?”_

“Yeah: dinner to go,” Ruby added. “Something tells me this is going to be a LONG night...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Watchers, Seekers, Weavers, Makers, and the rest of the Orders are free to make recommendations for replacements and additions to the Keeper’s team, but aside from the most basic administrative work, all the screening, interviewing, and hiring is done by the Keepers themselves, usually, but not always, with the help of the current and/or recently retired members.
> 
> This is because the Keeper Team has historically had a LOT of questionable hires, who turned out to be incredibly great assets, such as Abner.


	26. Chapter 26

Soon, all the members of the Keeper team, permanent or part-time, were sitting on top of a tangle of roots, munching on energy bars and sipping from canteens as they looked at the holo Penny was projecting, listened to Ruby discussing their plan.

“…And just so you all know: if it turns out they’ve seriously hurt or killed Zwei, I’m **murdering** them.” Ruby said by the end of it. “Everyone clear?”

“Crystal,” everyone replied.

“Great,” Ruby said before she put her mask on. **“Let’s do this.”**

Qrow took to the air, Ren climbed up the trees and jumped from branch to branch, both scouted out the area. They found Zwei with his heads stuck in a large knothole, balancing his body on the mouth and a sturdy, large branch just underneath him. When nothing else of interest turned up, they all began to prepare to move into position.

Qrow and Nora perched on branches within sight of the knothole, loading a crossbow, or grenades, gas and anti-magic. Ren readied his blades and climbed above the mouth of the hole, ready to drop on unsuspecting intruders. Ruby and Penny climbed up to the branch Zwei was balancing on, and began to approach him, weapons in their hands.

“ **Zwei,”** Ruby whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. **“Zwei, are you alright?”**

Zwei quietly tapped his right hind paw twice.

“ **Did you find an intruder, boy?”**

Twice again.

“ **Do you think they’re dangerous?”**

He tapped with his left once, then his right.

“ **Are they still armed?”**

Again, the same gesture.

“ **Do you think there’s a good chance they might be a weaver?”**

He double-tapped his left hind paw this time.

“ **Do you think they might escape once you pull out?”**

Two taps with the right.

Ruby nodded, then turned to Penny. **“You ready?”**

“Absolutely,” Penny replied, putting her tail into Ruby’s hand, and her own hands around her mouth.

 **< This is Keeper Ruby Rose, of the Viridian Valley!** **> ** Ruby said, her voice booming through the trees. **<** **You are suspected of trespassing into Keeper’s Grove, and for security reasons, we** **can’t just let you turn around and leave** **.** **Please** **identify yourself, your affiliation, and your purpose for being here, then surrender yourself peacefully into our custody** **within the next five minutes, starting now** **!**

**< If you do not, we’ll be forced to arrest you and hand you over to the Watcher’s Roost! Trust me, you _really_ do not want to know what’ll happen if we have to do this the _hard_ way!>**

They waited for five long, tense minutes, and after there was no response, no motion, Ruby called out, **< Your time’s up! We’re moving in to arrest you! Please do not resist, you are surrounded, we ****a** **re all armed** **, and** **you’re in some seriously deep legal trouble** **if you try to fight** **, I’m warning you!**

**< Zwei! Get them out of there!>**

Zwei barked, before he lunged, and carefully brought their intruder out of the knothole by the nape of their neck. Everyone tensed up, prepared to spring into action, until they all got a good look of their suspect: a female cat Fae, filthy from the tips of her ears to her tail, her armour severely battered and weathered, her whole body almost entirely skin and bones.

<Please...> she whispered, her voice barely audible as she trembled and shook. <Your dog...>

She fainted before she could say any more.

* * *

“Wow.” Weiss said. “Did you take her to the hospital?”

“No, but that was only because we could treat Blake just fine at the Grove,” Ruby replied. “Penny managed to revive her pretty much immediately, and since she was trying to head there in the first place, she went without a fuss—Nora had to carry her, though, because she didn’t want to be anywhere _near_ Zwei.”

Weiss nodded. “That’s good to hear… so why was she trying to head into Keeper’s Grove?”

“I’ll get to it later, promise!” Ruby said. “Anyway, we gave her food, a sponge bath, fresh clothes, and a place to sleep. All we needed to do for security was station Zwei outside Varryn’s old room—or, I guess, Blake and Penny’s room right now— so we could sit down for a proper dinner ourselves. Then, we had a very important emergency meeting...”

* * *

“So, what are we going to do with her?” Ruby asked as they all sat around the kitchen table, the plates all cleared.

“I say we turn her into the Roost, let the Watchers and Seekers decide what’s going to happen to her,” Qrow said, resting his open flask on the table. “We’ve got enough problems as is, trying to look for a replacement for Varryn before the deadline, and there’s this strong feeling in the pit of my gut that she’s going to be bringing _more_ trouble than she will be solving them.”

“I say we keep her detained her at the Grove for the time being,” Penny said. “By my observations of her vitals and behaviour, it’s much, _much_ more probable that she’s been desperately trying to reach this place, and has gone through great efforts and much suffering to do so. It would serve us well to learn her motives and reasons for this journey, and I believe that keeping her in our custody and care will help us earn the necessary trust.”

“I’m with Penny!” Nora chimed in. “Come on, guys: pretty much nobody ends up here in the Grove in a super dramatic, major ‘early-to-mid-season plot development’ way by accident! There has to be a HUGE reason she’s here, and she doesn’t feel like a one-off character to me! Plus, consider the timing: she came here on the same day that Varryn finally left the team for good, we’ve got a really short deadline to find his replacement, and she’s _also_ probably someone who’s a wilderness expert.

“Did you see how she looked like when Zwei pulled her out? Where we found her, so high up on the trees, away from most potential predators? Nobody does that if they haven’t had plenty of wilderness experience, and had been roughing it out for weeks, maybe even months.”

“Which begs the question of why she needed to do all that, and sneak into the Grove via the surrounding swamp, instead of taking the Tube station,” Ren countered. “I’m very sorry, Nora, but I have to agree with Qrow: the answer to that, among other questions, is likely going to involve some dark, complicated, and dangerous business, one handled best by the Roost and not by us.”

“So that’s two for two, looks like you’re going to be the tiebreaker, kiddo,” Qrow said as everyone turned to look at Ruby. “What do you think?”

Ruby looked uneasy, then sighed. “I think we should all finally go to bed, sleep on it, and decide again in the morning.”

“A prudent choice,” Penny said, smiling and nodding.

“And one that could potentially give whatever or whoever she might be running from time to catch up,” Qrow grumbled. “Eh, fuck it, just try and sleep with your weapons in reach, alright?”

“Alright, Uncle Qrow,” Ruby said, before they all got up, and got ready for bed, except for Penny who chose to charge herself just outside the room they were keeping their suspect in.

Morning came, and Ruby came over to their suspect’s room with a bowl of Fuerte Flakes, a bottle of milk for it, and a fresh cup of black moss tea. “How is she?” she asked Penny.

“According to my scans through the door, and Zwei’s visual checks from the window, she’s perfectly fine, and there have been no noteworthy incidents.” Penny replied. “She appears to have slept through the entire night, likely due to overexhaustion, and a severe lack of sleep.”

“Is she awake now?” Ruby asked.

“There’s a very, _very_ low probability of that, and Zwei is also currently taking a break, so we cannot check.” Penny replied. “However, I don’t think she will protest being woken up and offered breakfast! Am I correct in assuming that you also want to check up on her personally, and make some inquiries?”

“Yeah, I do,” Ruby said, nodding. “I still want to keep her here if we can, but I’ve been thinking about what Uncle Qrow and Ren said, and we really do need to know if it’s going to be safe to do so. Can you let me in?”

“Of course!” Penny said, smiling. “Though, for security reasons, I will have to insist on joining you inside.”

“Can we not?” Ruby asked. “I think it might be uncomfortable for her to have _two_ of us in the room, seeing as it’s not very big and all.”

“I’m afraid we really have to, Ruby,” Penny said. “The personal risk to you aside, we will be missing an extremely valuable opportunity to acquire information from her if I have to rely on your second-hand account, not to mention any small details you may miss, or lines of inquiry that you may not pursue.”

Ruby sighed. “Okay, you’ve got good points… ready?”

“If you are also, Ruby,” Penny said, smiling.

“Then let’s do this.”

Penny nodded, before she turned around and knocked on the door. <Good morning, Miss! I am going to enter your room now, apologies if we have caught you at an inconvenient time!> she said, before she opened the door.

True to her earlier estimate, their suspect was just stirring from sleep, groaning and shaking her head as she slowly sat up in her nest. She sniffed the air, her eyes widening and her ears twitching in panic, before she quickly relaxed.

<How are you this morning, Miss?> Penny asked as she entered first.

<Better...> their suspect mumbled, pulling the sheets off of her and getting into a more comfortable position.

<You hungry? We brought breakfast!> Ruby said as she stepped in afterward, closing the door behind her with her foot.

The suspect looked, and smiled. <That’d be great. Thanks.>

<We’d also be quite grateful if you could answer some questions for us, starting with your name, your affiliation, and why you are here,> Penny added as she took the tray from Ruby, and set it down on the floor in front of the nest.

The smile on the suspect’s face disappeared, her ears flattening as she suddenly looked uneasy.

<Is there going to be a problem with that, Miss?> Penny asked, still smiling.

<Kind of… please, can I just answer the third question first?>

Penny glanced over her shoulder at Ruby, she shrugged, sat down behind Penny, and said, <Sure, why not?>

The suspect shifted again into a kneeling position, before she bowed, her head down as she said, <Keeper Ruby Rose, my life is in danger and I beg you, please, let me work for you, in exchange for your protection.

<This threat has been relentless, cruel, and determined, and they have already driven me out of my home; have forced me to cut ties with my friends, family, and community for their safety, if they had not done so already; and I know if they find me again, they will kill me, or _worse._

<You are my best hope, among what little options I have left. This threat will stop immediately if they know I am serving under you, as they wouldn’t _dare_ try to earn the ire of you nor the Eldan Council. I am a skilled and experienced huntress, spy, and warrior, and believe I can be a valuable addition to the Keeper Team, but I will be your obedient server doing whatever you ask of me, if I have to.

<So, please, I beg of you: let me work for you.>

<Can I at least have your name, what this threat is, and how you got to this point…?> Ruby asked.

The suspect was suddenly incredibly uneasy. <I fear what might happen to both of us if I share that information with you right now.>

<Because you don’t know if I’m going to stick my neck out for you yet?> Ruby asked.

The suspect nodded, and said, <Yes. If-->

<No.> Ruby said, firmly and calmly.

The suspect blinked, and looked at Ruby. <Pardon…?>

<No, I am not going to protect you!> Ruby said, scowling now. <I can’t blame you for thinking that we Keepers will take pretty much anyone who shows up at our doorstep, because we do, but do you _seriously_ think that I’m going to risk my, my friends, and my family’s safety before you even tell me the most _basic_ bits of information like your name, and who you are?!

<Before I commit to _anything,_ show me that I can _trust you_ , and you can do that by telling me _everything. >_

The suspect frowned, the dramatic internal conflict playing out inside of her clear on her face. <Keeper-->

 **< Shut up.>** Ruby snapped. <Unless the next words out of your mouth are your name, who you are, and who or what you ended up pissing off so badly you needed to run all the way here from wherever in this realm you used to call ‘home,’ I am personally kicking you out of my house, shoving you into the _cargo hold_ of a Log, before personally dragging you into the Watcher’s Roost.

 _< T_ _hen,_ you can go beg for protection from them.>

The suspect’s face fell, her ears and tail drooping; she was quiet for a while as Ruby continued to look at her, a calm expression on her face, until finally she said, <My name is Blake… Blake Belladonna.>

* * *

“We ended up spending the whole morning listening to her story. And sorry to say, Weiss, you’re going to have to ask Blake about all the details herself—she made us promise that she’d be the one to tell it herself.”

“I understand,” Weiss said. “It sounds like it’ll spiral into an entirely new story that’ll have us here till dawn, anyway.”

“Boy, will it ever!” Ruby said, chuckling. “Anyway, after we relayed it to the others, most of us voted to keep Blake around, though she ended up shuffled to the very bottom of the priorities list as we focused on finding Varryn’s replacement again.

“It all worked out though, because Blake was more than happy to spend all day indoors locked in her room, only coming out for food, exercise, and the bathroom. We ended up taking her with us when it was time for the face-to-face interview with the candidates, though...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theoretically, you COULD in fact fit two average-sized individuals into a single Log, but it's uncomfortable, to say the least. Abner experimented with numerous multi-passenger designs after the first single-passenger models were finalized and mass-produced, but thanks to the limitations of the supporting infrastructure, he ended up modifying it to the single-passenger plus cargo designs today.


	27. Chapter 27

Qrow took one long, slow drink from his flask, pulled it from his lips, and sighed heavily. <Alright, I’m good—let them in,> he mumbled as he capped it again, put it away in the inner pocket of his shirt.

Soon, the door on the other side of the room opened up, their first interviewee of the day strode to the dais in the center of the room, Ruby and the rest of the Keeper Team surrounding her. They exchanged the usual formalities, before she knelt down on the large cushion provided for her, bathed in the light streaming through the high windows.

<Welcome to the first round of interviews for the Keeper Team!> Penny said smiling. <First off, congratulations for making it this far! Second, for the purposes of uniformity, we will have to request that you please communicate almost-to-entirely in Actaeon, save for any Nivian sayings, concepts, or quotes that you feel will not, or cannot translate adequately. Third, though we are sure you are already well aware, the questions we may ask you can get _intensely_ personal, and that you are free to ask such questions back, if either of us feel that they may be relevant, or might prove to be a significant asset or liability in the future.

<With that out of the way: please state your name, who you are, and how your merits and achievements make you the best candidate for this position!>

<I am Anouke Kalla,> Anouke replied. <I have been a watcher since I was old enough to walk and handle a knife, and have been hunting down, slaying, and skinning almost every dangerous beast and horrific monster that lurks in this Valley for the past five decades. Whether they stalk no man’s land, lurk in the darkest, murkiest depths, or soar the most treacherous skies, I can guarantee you I have faced and bested them all, with one notable exception:

<Soul Eaters.>

Anouke put her hand to her breast, looked Ruby in the eyes, and said, <I swear, Keeper Rose, grant me the honour of serving under you, and those monsters will learn to fear my presence as much as yours.>

<Yeah, say no more, you’re out.> Qrow said calmly.

Anouke’s eyes widened, she snapped her head to Qrow. <Excuse me?!>

<We don’t need overconfident big game hunters who want to be part of team just get close to a Soul Eater, and try to bag its head for a trophy,> Qrow said. <They’re not ‘fun,’ or a ‘worthy challenge,’ they’re an abomination of magic and science we have to stop _at all costs_ —even if it means killing it so hard there’s nothing left of it that you can see without the help of a scanner or a microscope.>

<Yeah, I’m really sorry, Watcher Kalla, but Uncle Qrow has a point,> Ruby said. <You have to put your very all into fighting a Soul Eater—and every bit you spend on trying to kill it in a way that preserves its body, rather than just doing everything you can to ensure it’s dead is more opportunity for the Soul Eater to kill you, instead.>

Anouke scowled, before she let out a short, disappointed sigh. <I feel you are incurring a great loss by rejecting me… but very well, I will respect your decision, Keeper,> she said, turning back to Ruby, and bowing her head. <Thank you for your time and the opportunity.>

Ruby and the rest of the Keeper Team said their half of the formal farewell, before Anouke was out the door, and the next candidate came in.

* * *

“Wow, that quickly and just for that reason?” Weiss asked.

“Yep!” Ruby said. “It’s kinda like one of those economic theories or something, where there’s hundreds of folks that want to fill in a vacant, permanent spot in the Keeper Team, so we can just pick and choose whoever we think is going to be the absolute best of the best, though there were some folks where the issues were more, uh, personal.”

“Such as?”

“Well...”

* * *

It was mid-day now when yet another candidate strode into the room, a pair of well-worn headphones around their neck. <Yo, name’s Yral Revene, but you might know me by my stage name: ‘Jackdaw,’> they said. < _Officially_ my job is as a watcher-weaver, but only to pay the bills while I work on my real job: music maker. I want in on the Keeper Team as you all are gonna be the key to my revolutionizing music and weaving, and it’s going to start with me helping you kick Soul Eater tail like never before!>

<That’s an incredibly bold statement,> Ren said. <May you please explain how exactly you are planning to do this…?>

<With the freedom to use my Sound, is what,> Jackdaw replied. <I’ve been forced to use all the stock standard sheets and songs, so me and the rest of the sound weavers can harmonize and collab easy-like, and even then, I’ve barely been allowed to use my Sound on the field.>

<Your ‘Sound’…?> Ruby asked.

<They mean their personally composed music,> Penny said.

<Oh!> Ruby said. <So, is this also a set of custom-made and modified spells, then?>

<Yes,> Jackdaw replied. <I could go on and on about how awesome it is, but I think I should just let my Sound speak for itself,> they said, pulling out an external speaker and their comm-crystal.

<Excuse me!> Penny said, rising up from her seat. <I would like to remind you that elemental weaving of any sort is forbidden inside the interview room, and will be considered an attempt to harm the Keeper or her teammates, with the according grave punishment!>

<Relax, it’s _just_ the music this time!> Jackdaw replied as they set it down, before they smiled. <You can experience the rest later, at the Grove. Ready?>

Everyone agreed to it, or didn’t mind, except for Qrow, who said <Hold on.> then ripped open one of the cushions, and plugged his hearing-holes with the stuffing.

<Oh come on, Uncle Qrow, aren’t you overreacting?> Ruby asked him.

<Alright, go!> Qrow said loudly, either ignoring her, or unable to hear.

Without any further issues, Jackdaw grinned, and pressed play, their personal music booming and filling the room. Merely ten seconds in, the smiles on Ruby and Nora’s faces disappeared, Zwei whined and pressed his two heads together and covered his outermost ears with his paws, while Penny looked concernedly at the increasingly uncomfortable and displeased members of the Keeper Team, sans Qrow.

<Oh, Eluna, make it stop!> Blake cried, clapping her hands over her ears.

<I’m really sorry, but please do!> Ruby added.

<Seriously?> Jackdaw asked, frowning. <It’s just new! It’s like an acquired taste! You’ll learn to love it, I swear!>

<My sincerest apologies, but I will really have to ask you to stop, or be forced to!> Penny cried. <Any more of this, and you might be charged with harassing and psychologically harming the Keeper and her Team.>

* * *

“And then there were some folks who’d been doing incredibly well, but we had to make the tough decision to reject them because of one deal-breaker or another...”

* * *

It was afternoon now, the curtains on the windows drawn to keep the glare of the sun from being too powerful. It was already past 2, their agreed upon lunch break, but they delayed it for the sake of their latest interviewee.

<… While I doubt I will be able to concoct, or even begin to research on something that might affect the Soul Eaters themselves, I’m sure that I’ve proven that my potions can be a great boon to you and the rest of the team, in combat or out of it,> he finished.

<Indeed you have, Maker Nyimu!> Penny said, smiling. <There’s just one more aspect from your record that we would like to address: we’re rather concerned about how dramatically your combat performance dropped after you finished drug rehabilitation, both in training exercises and live situations, and how that might be a liability when it comes to high-stakes situations like a Soul Eater attack.>

Nyimu frowned. <Ah, yes… to be honest, most of my stellar performance before it was all thanks to the constant abuse of enhancers, or using more to escape the consequences. Again, I swear I will improve myself without the cheap, dangerous shortcuts.>

<We know,> Qrow said, <but let me give you a hypothetical situation: everyone but you and Ruby are down or dead. She’s in deep shit, you’re the only one that has a hope in hell of saving her, but you know that the only way you can do it is if you pop a pot, or jam a needle into your arm, give you the boost you need.

<Would you do it…?>

Nyimu was silent, his eyes widening in surprise, before his face contorted into all manner of expressions, the inner turmoil clear for all to see. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, before finally, he sighed heavily, slumped his shoulders, and shook his head. <No, Watcher Branwen, I believe I cannot…> he said. <Even a single misstep will be all it takes to fall again into addiction, I’m certain of it..>

<So you don’t think you can sacrifice yourself, if it comes to that?> Ruby asked sympathetically.

Nyimu looked at her, and said, <No Keeper—I apologize.>

<Nothing to be sorry about.> Ruby said. <Though, I am sorry to say you’re not going on the Keeper team.>

<I expected as much,> Nyimu said, smiling ruefully. He bowed, they went through the formal goodbyes, and left.

As soon as he was out the door, everyone started getting up off their cushions and stretched, groans and sighs of relief echoing in the room.

<Ugh, I’m so glad it’s finally over...> Blake muttered as she arched her back. <Please don’t take this as a personal insult, everyone, but I never realized how much truth there was to the stories of what kinds of Fae would want to apply for the Keeper Team… I always assumed there was some element of exaggeration and fabrication to it to make it a more entertaining story, not that they were just reporting it as is!>

<Yeah, Keepers tend to attract misfits, outcasts, and oddballs almost as much as they do trouble,> Qrow said, bending his arms back and forth between their usual and flying configurations. <And sometimes, they’re both at once,> he added, looking pointedly at Blake.

She scowled, and said nothing.

<Be _nice,_ Uncle Qrow, > Ruby snapped softly, before she smiled at Blake. <So, since this is your first time in the Bastion and being out of the house in general since you got here, anything you want to get for lunch? There’s plenty of great restaurants here, and I’m sure we can convince the Council to foot for our bill.>

<If none of you mind, I would really appreciate someplace that serves fish,> Blake replied. <Preferably fresh.>

<Oh, well you’re in luck!> Nora said, grinning. <Ren and I know this great seafood place in the Tender’s Fields, serves pretty much everything—freshwater and saltwater fish, squids, octopi, shellfish, algae, seaweed—heck, they even have these neat compressed balls of plankton you eat like chips! You even get a discount if you catch it yourself.>

Blake smiled. <I’d really like that, actually.>

<Any objections?> Ruby asked. When there were none, she smiled and said, <Then let’s go get some lunch!>

Then as if on cue, all of their comm-crystals sans Blake’s started flashing and beeping wildly in alarm, similar alarms echoing elsewhere in the Roost. Penny projected a holo and read aloud the message:

<Emergency Alert! Research Facility Hyrkanos in the Thundercall Tunnels is under attack by an aerie of Thundercall Rocs, confirmed lead by ‘Zeus V!’ Requesting Keeper Team and other Apex-class watchers to reinforce within an hour or less! Outposts have been overrun or isolated, security has sustained casualties and infrastructure has been severely damaged, evacuations impossible without outside assistance!>

<Isn’t Thundercall where we were supposed to go in three weeks?> Ruby cried as they started running.

<Looks like the date’s been moved forward, kiddos!> Qrow cried back.

<Sorry to sound self-centered, but what’s going to happen to _me? > _Blake butted-in as she kept pace with them. <I’m supposed to be with at least one of you at all times!>

<Simple: we take you with us!> Ruby replied. <Your equipment’s all fixed now, and you said it yourself that you’re willing to fight and hunt with us, right?>

<There’s a lot of legal mumbo jumbo about Keeper’s deputizing folks, so don’t worry about going to jail, and just focus on not dying!> Nora chirped. <It’d be **really** tragic and awful if you died so soon after you just got introduced into the story!>

Blake looked strangely at her, before she shook her head, and kept on running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Qrow, like many avian Fae, does not have ears, and has hearing-holes instead. Ren also has them, as reptilian Fae and some more exotic subspecies like snake Fae have acquired adaptations from others over the millenia, though the earliest of them reportedly could only “taste” sound or had very poor audio perception.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for late update, I have been busy with AC Odyssey for the past two weeks.

The Keeper Team came out of the teleporter, and straight into a scene of anarchy.

The walls of the Thundercall Tunnels and Research Facility Hyrkanos echoed with the sounds of booming thunder and the roc’s deafening shrieks, hundreds if not thousands of them flying into the hollow the facility was built in, the aerie so thick and densely packed they were like one solid mass of beating wings and crackling electricity. Energy collectors, lightning rods, and power regulators exploded and melted as the rocs either overloaded them, or ripped them apart with their beaks, talons, and screams; jets and vents roared and tried to blow the rocs away and into choke-points; and what was left of the facility’s watchers were desperately firing high explosives, area-of-effect spells, and whatever else they still had left against the rocs.

With each barrage, dozens of the rocs died, shredded, exploded, shot, frozen, incinerated, gassed, or many other demises, but it seemed there were always more ready to replace them, their numbers seemingly infinite. Suddenly there was a monstrous screech, one that dwarfed the sounds of all of the other rocs combined, that chilled the bones of the Fae and their beasts, sent the watchers running and for cover and the rocs parting to make way.

“ _ **SCRAW…!”**_

Zeus V burst into view, barely slowing down from the high-force winds blasting him, demolishing buildings and towers just by flying through them, the electricity from his feathers blowing up and setting fire to whatever was still standing. Dozens of his brethren flew in his wake, becoming living shields for Zeus, helping lay waste to the other buildings, or attacking the watchers, even carrying off some unlucky Fae and animals.

Most managed to fight their way out of their talons, or their allies shot the rocs down, but a handful didn’t make it, their screams drowned and their fates unseen as the rocs rapidly swarmed around them. Zeus flew back out the hollow, almost completely unscathed, while the watcher’s defense line was pulled back, just one or two more retreats before Hyrkanos was at the mercy of the aerie.

Blake looked back at the portal as it was forced to shut down; the few dozen or so Apex-class watchers and animal companions that had made it alongside the Keeper Team; back to the observation window; then finally, at Ruby. <Let me guess: we’re the ones that are going to be hunting down Zeus?>

 **<** **Yep!** **> ** Ruby said cheerfully.

Blake sighed heavily, her ears tilting downward. <Alright, it’s not like I didn’t ask for this...>

Soon, the reinforcements were briefed, and equipped with flight packs, hookshots, and special armour for withstanding the roc’s electrical and sonic attacks, among other necessities. Save for Zwei who was joining the mobile artillery units, every member of the Keeper Team plus Blake were to be loaded into a series of shells, then fired out of a giant electromagnetic cannon.

<I feel obliged to disclose: this method of deploying into battle is not entirely safe and carries great risk of personal injury, even in ideal circumstances,> Penny said as the weavers and makers buffed them with spells, and covered them ear tips to toes with mixtures and solutions.

<It’s alright,> Blake replied. <Believe me, I’ve gone into life and death situations _much_ worse than this.>

They were loaded in, the runes and the magitech along the barrel started crackling and humming as it was aimed at where Zeus would swoop down. Zwei and the other artillery units continued their barrages, until finally, that deafening screech echoed through the caverns again:

“ _ **SCRAW…!”**_

**< NOW!>**

The artillery units ceased fire, the Keeper Team deployed.

_Thoom. Thoom. Thoom._

Any rocs they hit instantly turned into a fine bloody mess, those around them were swept away and sent spinning. Zeus barely had time to pull out of his dive and flap his feathers, making a giant electric shield in front of him.

_Krrzzsshh!_

The shells exploded, the shrapnel flew away from Zeus, killing and injuring the other rocs nearby, or making harmless nicks on his hide or damaging the tips of his feathers. He almost seemed to smile smugly, up until he saw Ruby and the rest of the Keeper Team flying out towards him.

_Slash!_

Ruby got him in the neck, the large, ugly gash bleeding profusely. Zeus howled in pain, swiftly turning around and retreating, the Keeper Team either jetted after him with their flight packs, or clung onto him with their hookshots.

Zeus flew out of the hollow to the giant, open cavern outside Hyrkanos, started doing sharp dips and rises, hard turns near walls and rock formations, and barreling around in the air, outmaneuvering or shaking off Qrow, Ren, and Nora. Ruby almost flew off, too, until Blake whipped out her breakneck and caught her, Penny helping reel her in, then keep them all secured on Zeus’ back.

Zeus let out a frustrated screech, before he dove to the ground, talons gouging the rocks before he stopped completely. He started looking around, raising his wings, violently shaking and turning around, trying to find where the three of them were.

_Boom-boom-boom._

Smokebombs exploded in Zeus’ face, he coughed and flapped his wings, blowing it away. His whole body crackled and surged with electricity, lightning discharging randomly all around him, but Penny, Blake, and Ruby were just too fast or too tough, dodging them or tanking the blasts without ill-effects, slashing and shooting at him as they circled around him, or dashed underneath his wings and legs.

Zeus suddenly let out a long, piercing screech, the sound echoing and shaking the caverns, Ruby, Penny, and Blake forced to cover their ears as their sound dampeners were pushed to their limits. Zeus whole body glowed as he concentrated all the energy in his body, before it discharged in a wave around him, the rushing electricity and air blowing them back and stunning them.

Deafened and disoriented, they didn’t hear Zeus’ reinforcements arriving, notice the large roc swooping down on them until Blake found herself picked up, and being swarmed by dozens of smaller rocs.

 **< BLAKE!>** Ruby screamed as she started chasing after her.

<FORGET ABOUT ME!> Blake shouted back. <FOCUS ON ZEUS!>

 **< Like hell we are!>** Ruby cried, holstering her scythe and holding out her arm. **< Penny!>**

<On it!> Penny cried, taking it.

Ruby threw her into the swarm of rocs, Penny discharged a wave of magic from her arms, stunning and disorienting them and Blake. She fell out of their claws, Ruby dashed forward and caught her, before continuing on back the path to Hyrkanos. Dazed, injured, and out of breath, she could only look back and watch Zeus having his wounds tended to by his smaller brethren.

<Keeper Team, rendezvous with me at the following location, be warned that Zeus and lackeys are still alive!> Ruby said, marking an area in her mask’s mini-map. <Bring Zwei, too, I think we might need med-vac!>

<Roger!> Nora called back. <FYI, we drove the rest of the rocs out of the hollow and pushed the defense line back up, it’s basically a shooting gallery here!>

<Is it bad?>

<Hell no! Zeus being gone has really given us the upper hand!> Nora said, before she resumed fighting.

Ruby, Penny, and Blake stopped behind a patch of rocks, just before they ran into the chaos in the cavern nearby. Ruby laid Blake down on the ground, before Penny was kneeling over her and scanning her.

<How’s it looking?> Ruby asked.

<Extensive damage to the first and second layers of her armour and to her flight pack, potential internal organ damage and hearing loss from all the electric shocks and sonic blasts, some lacerations to the epidermis,> Penny said as she sprayed Blake down with medicine, then temporary reinforcement for her armour.

<Why did you save me?> Blake asked. <You could have killed Zeus back there, he was getting desperate!>

Ruby looked back at her, smiling underneath her mask as she said, <I promised to protect you, right?>

There was suddenly a commotion nearby, screeching and dying rocs, and the sounds of gunfire and fighting. Ruby and Penny tensed up, until Zwei leaped into view, Nora and Ren on his back, Qrow flying close behind them.

“Yippee ki-yay, motherfuckers!” Nora squealed as she and Ren fired a barrage of bullets and explosives at the rocs chasing them, until they retreated..

<What?> Blake asked as she stood back up.

<Holo-Vision quotes, she does that a lot,> Ruby replied. <You good to fight still?>

Blake nodded. <Let’s roast that bird.>

<Just so you know, they’re best boiled, slow roasted, or slow cooked,> Qrow said as he and the others readied their weapons again, turned back into the tunnel. <Otherwise they’re tough as bark and taste about as pleasant.>

They were about to advance back to the tunnels, when they heard it: the sounds of wings flapping in near unison, rumbling thunder and crackling electricity, an all too familiar monstrous screech:

_**< SCRAW…!>** _

They started firing, slashing, and throwing out more bombs as the rocs went straight for them, surrounding them and even tackling them to the ground; they only realized that they were on a suicide charge as Zeus flew past them while they were occupied.

Blake managed to hook her breakneck on his back, Ruby dashed and sliced through several rocs and managed to grab onto her, before the both of them were yanked off and high up into the air. Zeus kept on climbing, what remained of his aerie swooping around him and taking the shots and distracting the watchers rushing after him, his whole body crackling and charging with electricity once more. He abruptly near the roof of the cavern and hovered in the air, too busy glowering at the firing line in Hyrkanos to notice Ruby and Blake flying upwards and above him by her breakneck’s cable.

Time seemed to slow down as they hit the peak of their swing, where they looked at the dozens of Fae and beasts that were at the firing line and around them, down at Zeus clearly building up to something catastrophic, then at each other.

<Do it.> Blake said firmly.

 **< I’m sorry.> **Ruby whispered back.

<Don’t be.> Blake said, before she activated her breackneck’s reel.

The two of them screamed through the air, going faster and closer to Zeus with each second. Ruby let go of Blake, pulling out her scythe and prepared for a massive swing, her scythe’s blade growing bright silver. Blake closed her eyes as she fell past Zeus, serene and calm as she awaited the inevitable.

_Shing!_

Zeus seemed to continue hovering in the air for a moment, seemingly unharmed, before his eyes widened, blood spewed out from the new, clean line around his neck, and finally, he exploded.

_Boom._

The thunderous blast deafened and disoriented Blake, the shockwave ripping her breakneck off Zeus’ back and sending her hurtling through the air. With her flight pack broken, it was only a matter of time before she was dashed against some rocks or the ground.

 _< Guess this is it,>_ she thought to herself, before she smiled, and waited for the end...

… Only it never came, as Qrow snatched her out of mid-air, desperately flapping his wings and trying to slow them down, steer them away from any rock formations or stalactites, until finally the others caught them and brought them safely to a stop.

Behind them, Zeus beheaded, charred carcass crashed to the ground, forming a massive crater as it hit. Ruby landed on it shortly after, breaking several of its bones. The watchers and the other Fae watching waited in suspense, until finally, Ruby said:

** <Hope you meat-eaters out there are fine with your roc being extra burnt!> **

The Thundercall Taverns echoed with the sound of cheering and applause.

* * *

“Blake wasn’t instantly promoted to the Keeper Team after that—she was still a fugitive here under _really_ terrible circumstances, after all—but the Hyrkanos Defense _did_ go a long way into helping her officially become part of our team two months later. Maybe it was fate, or because we already worked and gelled really well with her for the most part, but we just couldn’t find anyone better to fill the spot other than her.

“And that, Weiss, is how Blake ended up joining the Keeper Team!” Ruby said proudly.

“Wow,” Weiss said, smiling, “is recruiting new members always this exciting?”

“Nah,” Ruby said, “Penny’s was a lot less dramatic. I could tell you it sometime—but probably not now, you should probably be going to bed.”

Weiss nodded, before she yawned. “Yeah, it’s probably safe for me to lie down now… thank you for the story and the conversation, Ruby, I really appreciate it.”

“Any time I can help it, Weiss!” Ruby said, smiling. “Sleep well, I love you.”

“I love you too, Ruby, have a nice rest of your shift,” Weiss said, before she closed the connection.

Ruby sighed and frowned as the holo disappeared, she pulled her farsighter to her eyes and resumed scanning her surroundings with Iaros. A few minutes later, she put it down, pulled out her comm-crystal again, and sent a text message:

“ _Uncle Qrow? You up?”_

“ _I am now,”_ Qrow replied a few moments later. _“What’s up?”_

“ _Do you mind if we holo-chat?”_ Ruby asked. _“_ _It’s real quick, I promise.”_

Qrow sent a connection request, and his bleary-eyed face soon appeared before Ruby. “Like I said, what’s up?” he said groggily.

“I was just telling Weiss the story of how Blake ended up on the team, and I wanted to thank you again for deciding to let us keep her around, and saving her back at Hyrkanos,” Ruby said. “I know you had a shit-ton of issues with her and would have thrown her into the Roost if you could, but you didn’t.”

“I said it before, I’ll say it again: I wasn’t doing it for her,” Qrow said flatly.

“I know, Uncle Qrow, but I’m still thankful,” Ruby said. “Sorry for waking you up, and I love you.”

“Love you too, kiddo, now _please_ let me go the fuck to sleep,” Qrow said.

“I will, promise,” Ruby said, shutting the connection, before returning to her duties for real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thundercall Rocs are one of the apex predators of the Thundercall Caverns, and one of the most notorious at that. They are extremely fast and voracious breeders, are purely carnivorous and eat pretty much any other animal in the Caverns, sentient or otherwise, and are infamously impossible to tame or domesticate.
> 
> In the words of one Tender who tried and failed miserably, “They’re bitey, zappy, screechy bastards who’d sooner blow up your entire aviary for shits and giggles than try to sit on your command.”


	29. Chapter 29

Several hours later, at around 8AM, Yang and Pyrrha took the elevator to the Schnee sisters’ home. Three of Winter’s summons were now resting above the door in their plushie forms, and their spirit forms didn’t hesitate to jump out and crowd around Yang, making threatening noises and gestures at her.

“Woah, easy, _easy!”_ Yang said, holding out her hands as she stepped back from the angry elementals by her ankles. “I’m not here to fetch Weiss again! We’re just going to ask how she is.”

“Has anything happened to her?” Pyrrha asked. “She and Winter weren’t at breakfast earlier, and their comms have been on ‘Do Not Disturb’ all morning.”

The three summons looked at each other, quietly talking and burbling among themselves, before one of them went to a pipe by the door, lifted the cap, and got sucked inside. The other two stayed to watch Pyrrha and Yang, the latter crossing her arms at the wary looks they continued to give her.

A few minutes later, Winter stepped out, her tied into a looser bun than usual, several locks dangling around her head. “If you’re looking for Weiss, she’s drained physically and mentally from yesterday, so unless you’re offering HV recommendations, doing menial tasks for her, or bear large amuonts of blueberry frozen yogurt and/or triple chocolate cake shakes, she doesn’t want any of it.”

Yang sighed. “Damn, I was afraid of that...”

“Why are you two looking for her, if I may ask?” Winter asked.

“Pit Fighter business,” Pyrrha replied. “Specifically, we were hoping to brainstorm on what weapons and tactics I should specialize in, now that we’ve received and reviewed Weiss’ performance at the Weaver’s Terrace yesterday.”

Winter’s eyebrow rose at that. “Mind if I substitute for her?” she asked. “I’ve been wanting to get a better understanding of Fae combat, for sport or otherwise.”

Yang chuckled. “Hoping to get Uncle Qrow on a rematch someday?”

“Among other reasons,” Winter said. “So, what do you say?”

“Well, I definitely won’t say no to free help from ex-Queensguard!” Yang said, beaming.

“Neither will I, and thank you for the offer,” Pyrrha said.

“You’re welcome, now please, come inside and make yourself comfortable,” Winter said, stepping aside and gesturing in. She calmed down then ordered about the other summons that were around, and soon, Winter, Pyrrha, and Yang were sitting on the couch or one of the armchairs, summons carting in refreshments from the kitchen.

“So, how is the situation with your team?” Winter asked as a tray of tea and biscuits was hoisted onto the coffee table.

“Middle of the road, leaning on bad,” Yang replied, picking up and examining one of the biscuits before she took a bite. After a hum of approval, she continued, “Weiss’ offensive power is seriously down now that she doesn’t have access to most of her magic, which was supposed to offset her being relatively fragile and untrained; and even though Pyrrha can keep pace with the average watcher in standard exercises and unarmed combat, we’re going to be facing a _lot_ worse once it’s time to actually get into the fray.”

“What’s the issue, or issues, then?” Winter asked asked as she picked up the tea pot, started pouring cups for each of them.

“It’s embarrassing, but I haven’t found a weapon or set of them that just _feels_ right to me,” Pyrrha said, blushing. “ _Using_ them isn’t much of an issue, as my hobby of traditional martial arts seems to be paying off in dividends now.”

“I’ll say!” Yang cried, bits of crumbs falling from her mouth. “Anything Pyrrha picks up, she can start kicking ass with it in no time! I swear, in a different life, you’ve probably already been a several-time arena champion by this point!”

“Let’s try and focus on this life, please,” Pyrrha said, before she picked up one of the cups, thanked Winter for it. “I’ve found one of the key issues is that there’s just so _many_ weapons, not to mention all the myriad modifications and variations that can completely change how they’re wielded and what they’re useful for, never mind the varying levels of training and skill that may or may not vastly increase their effectiveness and versatility with enough time and experience.

“It’s been difficult to find something I want to master, alongside being a solid choice for our career plan in the Pits.”

“And what would that involve?” Winter asked, taking a sip of her tea.

“First and foremost, make a good impression in our first couple of months.” Yang replied, before she took a drink from her cup. “Few folks expect a brand new team to be winning every event right off the bat, nor would anyone outside of our friends and family be following us all that closely, but I _would_ like our early record to be a mix of losses and wins, and not finally catching a break after a perpetual losing streak. The latter doesn’t really win the crowds or fans, unless you manage to _keep_ that winning streak from then on out as you shoot straight up the ranking ladder, and none of us have the time, the training, nor the connections for that.

“Second, kick the asses of Keren and her team, and keep our name,” Yang continued, picking up a new biscuit. “We literally paid the price to be ‘The Furies,’ and both for the sake of our brand and on principle, I’m not about to let some sore losers steal it by abusing the optics of a duel,” she growled, biting down so hard on her biscuit the whole thing fractured into dozens of crumbled pieces.

Yang cursed, an elemental helpfully came by to mop up the mess as she picked up a new biscuit. “Third and finally, build a solid team composition and general strategy,” she said, before taking a much more careful bite. “We’re not planning to get drafted in random-draw melees for more than three-four months at the absolute worst, and once we establish ourselves and a semi-solid fan base, we’re going to try and stick to short, high-risk/reward matches we can do once or thrice a month, to give time and opportunity for all the _other_ shit we’ll be doing outside of the Pits.

“Right now, we’re thinking of just going full-on offense, seeing as that’s what me and Weiss both specialize in already, and since the matches we want tend to be on short, strict, unforgiving timers with just one or a handful of opponents, combat fatigue is the _least_ of our worries. But _obviously,_ we need to get the rep and the rank to qualify for those, and the events we’ll have to do to get there are more often than not about endurance and picking your fights wisely, letting the majority weed each other out, and conserve your energy and effort for the _real_ threats.

“So, any advice?”

Winter thought it over for a few minutes, sipping from her tea from time to time, before she put her cup down, and said, “I think it’d be best to have Pyrrha focus on defense, and perhaps have yourself or Weiss branch into it also to make your team more well-rounded. As you said, you’ll be forced into melees for the immediate future, and tactics putting everything into the attack almost inevitably involve great risk of injury to all parties involved. You may win a match, but what of the next match, and the ones after that, alongside whatever this Hell Hole that is the Valley will throw at us sooner or later?

“The consequences of a serious, debilitating injury; the culmination of dozens of other wounds and bruises; or just regular fatigue could easily wipe out whatever winnings you earn, among other, more dire costs.”

Yang nodded. “Points taken! We’ll do that, thanks for the advice, Winter!”

“Indeed, this will _really_ help narrow down my choices, thank you,” Pyrrha added.

“You’re welcome.” Winter replied. “Oh, and there’s one more thing I’ve been meaning to tell you two since Weiss told me about this whole Pit Fighting business, so if would you please spare a few more moments of your time to hear me out...?”

“Of course! We’re listening,” Pyrrha said, smiling.

“I’m aware that Weiss is willingly, knowingly throwing herself headlong into danger in the Pits and her other pursuits, but since you’re both guaranteed to be by her side in the former, please try and shield her from harm as much as possible.” Winter said, her voice calm and her expression neutral. “Now, just to be clear, I’m not saying that there _will_ be severe consequences if ever Weiss gets seriously injured, and I can objectively trace it to some negligence, abuse, and/or inaction on either of your parts, nor can I force Weiss to do anything against her will, ironclad as it is…

“… _B_ _ut_ as her beloved older sister, I have no shortage of sway and built-up trust with her, and as much as you convinced her to sign-up for these blood sports, I’m _much_ more confident in my ability to convince her to quit early, _among other things...”_ she finished, icily eyeing the both of them in turn.

Pyrrha gulped, Yang was unfazed. “We promise we’ll try and make sure Weiss doesn’t end up putting herself in the hospital again,” the latter said calmly, casually putting a hand over her heart. “If the ward starts reserving a bed specially for her, it won’t be because of the Pits.”

“Excellent!” Winter said, warming up in an instant. “Is there anything else you need my help with?”

“Nope, we’re good!” Yang replied. “We’ll just see ourselves out,,” she said, grabbing a handful of biscuits to go as she stood up.

“Good luck with the Pit Fighter business!” Winter said, waving goodbye.

Soon, Pyrrha and Yang were back in the elevator, quiet burbling and whooshing sounds around them as the cab descended back down to the ground floor. “Can I ask how you managed to keep your cool back there?” Pyrrha asked.

“Eh, I’m an older sister, too, I can empathize with threatening people into helping protect your little sister,” Yang replied, idly chewing on one of the biscuits.

“Even if she’s former Queensguard?” Pyrrha asked.

“Some things are just beyond rank and martial prowess, I suppose,” Yang replied as the doors opened. “For now, let’s get to the training grounds and looking for a weapon for you; only so much time before our big debut at the Pits, and I want it to have the best chances of being a good one!”

Pyrrha nodded, and followed her out.

* * *

_Clang! Clang! Clang!_

The sound of metal clashing on metal only got ever louder as Pyrrha and Yang approached the training grounds, rivaled only by Nora’s loud and passionate cheering. “Come on, Jaune!” they heard her shout. “Be the rock! The mountain! The immovable object!”

“Seems like Mr. Xiao Long and Jaune have already begun _their_ weapons training,” Pyrrha mused.

“I’m impressed he’s moved up this quickly!” Yang said. “Dad didn’t even use a stick on anyone back at the ole dojo, not unless he was sure they’d completely mastered the basics first.”

As they entered the grounds, however, they found that only Jaune was armed with his sword and shield, while Taiyang was still just using his fists, bare and unenchanted. It didn’t seem to matter though, as each strike had Jaune reeling and staggering back, every swing of his sword effortlessly deflected or stopped in its tracks. It seemed that only Taiyang’s significantly pulling back kept Jaune’s bones and his gear from shattering on impact.

_Thud!_

Jaune had his back forced against a tree, Taiyang threw a right hook!

_Clang!_

Jaune deflected it with his shield, sending Taiyang’s fist into the bark, clumsily swinging his sword for a counterattack!

“YEAH!” Nora cried, throwing her hands up in the air.

Taiyang deflected the blade with his other hand, seamlessly transitioning into a punch aimed right at Jaune’s face. His knuckles stopped just short of Jaune’s nose, he paled and made an undignified noise.

“… NO!” Nora cried, lowering her arms. “Damn, so close!”

Jaune’s knees quaked, Taiyang unclenched his fist and pulled away.

Jaune sighed heavily as he started sliding down the length of the tree. “Still suck, huh?” he mumbled.

“Yeah, but you can still get _way_ better,” Taiyang said as he grabbed his hand and hoisted him back up to his feet. “Just gotta keep on working and growing,” he said as he walked Jaune back to where they started.

Jaune just nodded, his eyes widening as he looked to the benches. “Pyrrha! Yang!” he cried, his eyes widening. “You’re both here! Uh, how long were you two standing there?”

“A little bit before Dad cornered you.” Yang replied.

“Oh...” Jaune muttered, his face drooping.

“Any luck with Weiss, you two?” Taiyang asked as they neared.

“Unfortunately no, but we did however get advice from Winter!” Pyrrha replied. “She recommended that I specialize in defense, so those are the types of weapons I’ll be trying out from here on out. If it’s not too much trouble, we’d like to borrow Nora and Ren.”

“I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Taiyang replied. “I need them to help improve Jaune’s defensive skills, especially against multiple targets.” There was suddenly a glint in his eyes. “Unless...”

“’Unless’ what?” Yang asked playfully. “You’ve got your ‘Idea Face’ and everything!”

“That I do!” Taiyang replied, grinning. “Jaune, Pyrrha, how’d you you two like to train together? Since I want Jaune here to learn how to protect himself from all kinds of weapons and situations; Pyrrha is trying to find the right gear for her; and you both need Ren and Nora’s help, we could kill _several_ birds with one stone by having Jaune protect himself from Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora, then vice versa!”

“That sounds like an excellent compromise, Mr. Xiao—err, Taiyang,” Pyrrha said, smiling. “I’m amenable to it. Jaune?”

“Uh, sure, I can do that!” Jaune said.

“Then it’s settled!” Taiyang said, before turning back to Nora and Ren, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Ren, Nora! Two full sets of heavy training armour, get the prefab barricades out, and every weapon we have in there that can remotely be considered ‘defensive!’ Extra padding too, now that I think about it!”

“On it, Coach!” Nora said as she stood up, saluting Taiyang, before she and Ren headed off to the shed.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing now?” Jaune asked, pulling at the reinforced fabric of his watcher’s training robes.

“Not nearly enough protection,” Taiyang replied. “You’re going to need a serious helmet, at the absolute minimum, not to mention I don’t want a repeat of you dying on us again.”

“… Why, exactly…?” Jaune asked.

Taiyang smirked. “No point in trying to figure out if a weapon’s right for you if you can’t go all out with it, yeah…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: a more in-depth look into all the many, many, _many_ ways Fae have devised how to kill animals, each other, and eventually, the aliens that had settled on their planet, along with Jaune getting hurt and humiliated because I enjoy his suffering, and want to play on certain character flaws of his I’ve cooked up, or feel the show did not portray as well as I’d like.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: The old chapter 30 onwards were deleted, or modified. After some experimenting, testing, and thinking, I decided to gloss over the incredible detail of the weapons, just hurry to the live tournaments, and keep the plot going.

“Are you sure you want to continue with this plan, Jaune?” Pyrrha asked, her voice modulated by the comm-unit inside her visor. “Even for training weapons, these seem awfully dangerous still, and that isn’t even going into the mediums I’m using!”

“I’m sure!” Jaune replied, making a thumbs up with his gloved hand, the material still scarred from all his mishaps earlier. “We’ll never get anywhere if neither of us ever get serious!”

(“That’s the spirit, Jaune!” Yang cried from the benches on the side.)

Pyrrha sighed. “Alright, if you’re sure...” she muttered.

From his position on the side of the dirt circle arena, Taiyang asked, “Fighters ready?”

“Aye!” Jaune and Pyrrha both cried, readying their weapons.

“Then fight!” Taiyang cried, before he blew the dueling horn, starting a long series of one-on-one duels between Jaune and Pyrrha.

The first set of matches were with Fae equivalents of traditional human weapons, but with the advantage of the former’s engineering, materials, and of course, elemental mediums.

Pyrrha tried out a Khopesh and a shield infused with earth, stopping Jaune’s sword slashes dead in their tracks, making him flinch with each successful strike back, finishing the fight by magnetizing his sword to hers, ripping it out of his hands, then slamming her shield into his helmet, flooring him.

She tried out a spear infused with water, Jaune given his own polearm for fairness. He barely managed to land any hits as she continously rained blows and thrusts upon him, smacking his weapon away or parrying the few strikes he did manage, before she stabbed him in the ankle, swept him off his feet, then stabbed him over his heart, piercing just a _little_ close to Jaune’s chest for his comfort.

She tried out a pair of nunchuks infused with air, made a miniature hurricane and lightning storm as she swung them, forced the spectators to shield themselves from the stray gusts and sparks flying out from the arena, until finally, Pyrrha kicked Jaune in the chest, sent him rocketing out of bounds, and into a fresh ditch in the dirt.

“Should I try and hold back a bit?” Pyrrha asked as Ren and Nora checked on Jaune, both of them wearing nonconducting safety gloves.

“Nah, he’s still good!” Nora replied, showing off the medical scanner’s readout. “Besides, you shouldn’t show mercy in an actual match. Folks **love** their epic, brutal finishers, especially if you had someone on the ropes for most of a fight, showed them _exactly_ how bad of an idea it was to mess with you!

“Caring for your opponents is before, after, and outside of a match, not _during_ it.”

“Noted.” Pyrrha said, casting a concerned look at Jaune, before returning to the weapon rack.

Some time later, they took a break to allow Jaune and Pyrrha to recover, and review their tactics. As Pyrrha found elemental mediums could change even the most familiar weapons and fighting styles into something entirely new altogether, she decided to go all the way into Fae weapons.

For her first choice, she tried out Spiderdancers, a pair of weaponized gloves that covered her arms from the elbows down. “This is a beautiful and fascinating weapon,” Pyrrha said as she unwound some of its steel-silk fibers between her fingers, practiced weaving and tying them together using the needle-like points over her fingers. “I’m aware of the philosophy of copying designs and ideas from nature, but this is just a level beyond all that I’ve seen before...”

“Try your best to keep from getting _too_ entranced by them,” Ren said, armed with his own pair for demoing. “These can _very_ quickly turn against their own users, not to mention how easily they cut and resist being cut themselves.”

“I will.” Pyrrha said, before she continued practicing.

“You’re _really_ going to fight me with just a bunch of strings?” Jaune asked as they returned to the circle. “I mean, yeah, they’re made of metal, but still—it’s just strings!”

“To be fair, with enough creativity and skill, _anything_ can be turned into a lethal weapon!” Pyrrha replied as she went into a fighting stance.

Jaune looked at her dubiously, before he shrugged, and readied his own weapons.

Taiyang blew the horn, Pyrrha pounced on Jaune, and within minutes, she had him completely immobilized, his limbs painfully pinned against his body and bent at strange angles, unable to move or even try to wriggle free without the threads cutting even deeper than they already had.

Still, Pyrrha wasn’t done with him, ramming her knee into Jaune’s back, wrapping fresh steel-silk around his neck like a garrote, strangling him until Taiyang blew the horn. She snapped the threads and climbed off of him, frowning as she finally saw just how convoluted and twisted of a mess she’d made of Jaune.

“Uh...” she muttered, sheepishly glancing at the side.

“I’ve got this!” Ren said, coming by with gloves, scissors, and a large seam ripper. “Try not to breath too deeply or squirm, Jaune, that will just make things worse,” he said as he knelt by his side.

Jaune whimpered, and did so.

Jaune was freed, and had his armour repaired, Pyrrha put away the spiderdancers and tried out Wingblades, sharpened, folding sheets of metal spanning almost the entire length of her arms. “These are so beautiful...” she muttered as she spread them all out, admired the gleam of mid-morning sun.

“Wait till you slap on some fresh paint and decorations on these bad boys!” Nora said, chuckling. “It’s why they’re one of the most popular weapons for choreographed fights!”

“And in the Pits also, because of their effectiveness in real combat,” Ren added.

And after Taiyang blew the horn once more, both Pyrrha and Jaune found out firsthand.

Pyrrha moved like she was dancing, long, elegant sweeps of her arms when the blades out, faster strikes with her palms, elbows, and feet when they were folded, easily circling around Jaune, striking him where he wasn’t looking, blocking or parry his slashes, before she tripped him up.

_Thud!_

Jaune landed on his back, instinctively raising his shield towards his vulnerable chest. He opened his eyes, and watched as Pyrrha prepared to come down on him, one arm of blades aimed at his neck like a guillotine.

After some praise from Yang at “what could have been a shoe-in for the highlight reel!” and another check to ensure that Jaune and his armour were still holding up, Pyrrha exchanged the wingblades for a King’s Claw, a nearly arm-sized blade that could transform into a pair of pinchers, with a heavy, blunt weight on one side.

“You sure you want to be using that?” Jaune asked as Pyrrha brought it into the circle. “It looks like it’s too clunky to be of much use in a fight.”

“It’s surprisingly light, actually!” Pyrrha said, making wide, fast swings with it. “Maybe not as graceful nor versatile as your sword, but that doesn’t seem to be the point of it,” she said, before she got into a combat stance, holding it in front of her like a shield.

Jaune shrugged then readied his own weapons, Taiyang blew the horn, and yet another match began.

They traded blows for a few minutes, Pyrrha leaving huge gouges across Jaune’s armour, staggering and making him flinch as she bashed him with the weight. She snapped his sword up in the pinchers, yanking it from him, before punching him in the throat with her other hand.

Jaune wheezed and shuffled back, instinctively trying to reach up and protect his neck; Pyrrha beat him to it, clamping the pincers down tight around it. He choked and tried to wrench himself free, until finally, he was slapping desperately at the sides, his face beginning to change colour underneath his helmet.

Pyrrha let him go, Taiyang blew the horn, and Jaune was whisked back to the bench, coughing and wheezing for breath.

“Man, you _really_ have a thing for going for the neck, don’t you?” Yang asked as Pyrrha picked out a new weapon.

Pyrrha shrugged. “It’s just basic combat knowledge,” she said sheepishly. “The throat _is_ one of the most vulnerable body parts.”

“Well keep it up!” Yang said, patting her on the back. “That kind of vicious efficiency will do us all well in the Pits.”

Pyrrha nodded, before she quietly said, “You know, Yang, I’m a _little bit concerned_ that this whole Pit fighter business is awakening some bloodthirsty side of me.”

“It’s only a problem the moment you take it outside the arenas, Pyrrha,” Yang said, smiling. “I mean, why do you think the Fae invented the Fighting Pits in the first place?”

“… Fair point.”

With Jaune’s health and armour still good, and the man himself willing to continue, Pyrrha moved onto more exotic, mobility-focused options. As a short sword and shield would be at a severe disadvantage against all of them, Jaune switched to a poleaxe.

Pyrrha’s first tried out a set of Dunestriders, specially-designed boots made for crossing hostile desert terrain in literal leaps and bounds. She skittered around the arena and Jaune, kicking up huge dust clouds to hide herself, leaping over or sliding under his attacks with ease, before launching herself at him like a missile, kicks landing with enough force to sent him staggering backwards, or almost dislocating a knee and ending the fight in short order.

She tried out a set of “Screamer” Stormwheels, a pair each for her hands and feet. Now, she rolled around the arena and Jaune at high speeds, the bladed edges cutting and gouging into his armour each time she dashed in to strike him. The fight dragged on for longer than the others, neither able to do significant damage, until Jaune managed to trip Pyrrha, send her tumbling and sliding across the dirt.

It almost seemed like he had the upper hand as he moved in, until Pyrrha grabbed the head of his poleaxe, and set the other three stormwheels to full-power.

Round and round they went, Pyrrha rapidly building up speed, Jaune holding onto his weapon for dear life, until it flew out of his hands and out of the ring, and he went face-first into the dirt; he picked himself up just in time to see Pyrrha about to run him over.

A little past noon, Jaune was looking quite the worse for wear, his armour and body covered in numerous alchemical substances, patches, and bandages. After some serious debate about how much more punishment they could safely subject Jaune to, Pyrrha decided she would participate in one more match--” _just_ one,” she emphasized.

“And I’ve got the perfect idea for your last weapon, too!” Yang chimed in, before she hurried off to the weapon rack.

So it was that Pyrrha ended up donning a set of Warchargers, force-amplifying boots and a ram-like helmet, much like the one Keren used. (“Know your enemy, and all that,” Yang said.) Meanwhile, Jaune put away the poleaxe and returned to his family’s sword and shield.

“Fighters ready?” Taiyang asked.

“Aye!” both Pyrrha and Jaune cried.

“Then fight!” Taiyang yelled, before he blew the horn for the last time that day.

Pyrrha wasted no time charging headfirst into Jaune, slamming directly into his shield, sending him sliding back several feet. Jaune braced himself, pushing back against her, smashing his sword’s pommel against her helmet back. Everyone on the side watched as the two of them wrestled with each other, ripping up new gouges in the ground, tossing up huge clouds in the dirt, neither able to keep the upper hand for long enough.

Then, Jaune’s foot caught in a shallow ditch, he yelled out as it twisted. Pyrrha noticed, ramming herself into him, hoisting him up into the air as she charged, before she hurled him straight out of the arena!

Jaune ended up sailing _well_ past the line, and into the unoccupied half of the spectator’s seating, crashing into two benches and a pole.

The furniture and the pole were fine.

Jaune was not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spiderdancers usually come in two pairs, one for the arms, one for the legs. There is sometimes a fifth used for a tail, or attached to the back as extra leverage or storage for silk-steel spools. And for fairly obvious reasons, very young Fae wishing to train with them start with regular, non-metallic threads.
> 
> Though Wingblades were developed for flying Fae, it wasn’t long before Air Weavers took notice and started developing a version that could be easily used by flightless folks. While it remains one of the most popular foci of choice for said class of weavers, there are many watchers that enjoy it for its versatility, its freedom of movement, and of course, its looks.
> 
> A King’s Claw is more properly known as a King Crab’s Claw. Though the Fae explicitly copied the infamous defense mechanism of said species, many liberties were taken and limitations hit; aside from size reductions and ergonomic considerations, it was difficult to make the pincer mechanism shatter bone and sever limbs like the animals themselves without severe drawbacks to the other aspects of the design, or inconvenience to the user.


	31. Chapter 31

Elsewhere in the Grove, Weiss was snuggled up in her nest with Penny, watching holos to pass the time, several of Winter’s summons watching with her. At the moment, an invader from another dimension was stealing the “Yuri” element from a convention, while a trio of colour-coded, teenage magical girls attempted to stop him.

“Piper, this show is so fucking stupid...” Weiss muttered as said invader evolved into a more powerful form from the “beauty and purity of girl’s love!”

“Would you like to change to something else?” Penny asked via a text-box on the side of the projection.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t enjoying it!” Weiss said quickly.

They continued to watch the fight, the stalls, displays, and unfortunate convention-goers getting caught in the crossfire, much to the _extremely_ vocal despair of the yuri fan among the trio. Eventually, though, they managed to damage the monster enough for them to use their finishing move.

“For the love of all that makes our lives worth living…” they said as they combined their weapons into a cannon-like configuration. _“SPIRAL PIERCER_ _…!”_

The stream stopped just before they could fire, Penny’s eyes flashing green.

“What happened?” Weiss asked amid the chorus of disappointed whines and groans from the summons.

“It seems that there was a serious accident during Jaune and Pyrrha’s training!” Penny replied, untangling herself from Weiss’ arms, then hovering towards the window. “I’m afraid my medical expertise is needed on-site, apologies, Weiss.”

“Don’t you just have first-aid equipment right now?” Weiss asked as she sat up.

“Yes, but I still have my treatment database, patient history, and high-precision scanners,” Penny replied. “I’ll inform you of any new developments as soon as I can!”

Weiss sighed, watching Penny go out the window and out of sight. One of Winter’s summons gently prodded her on the side, and gestured to her comm-crystal charging on a dock in the corner; she turned to them and shook her head. “You’ll have to find out what happens next later, I’ve got something I need to investigate,” she said as she stood up. “Help me get dressed, everyone!”

The summon sighed, before joining everyone available in fetching Weiss’ garments from the closet, or helping her put it on.

“I’m heading out to the training grounds!” Weiss said as she passed by Winter in the living room.

“Don’t try to squeeze in more exercise when you’re supposed to be recovering, I really _did_ mean that was the only time I’d carry you back!” Winter replied, not looking up from the Nivian-Actaeon primer she was reading.

“I won’t, sheesh! It’s been what, four years since that happened?” Weiss said as she opened the front door.

“I _know_ you, Weiss, your bad habits are as stubborn as you are.” Winter replied.

Weiss groaned and shook her head, before she stepped into the elevator and down to the ground floor.

By the time she arrived, Jaune was securely strapped to a spine board and being carried away by Taiyang and Nora, Ren and Penny following them with medical supplies. Further away, Yang was on a bench, comforting the rather glum looking Pyrrha sitting beside her.

After a few moment’s consideration, Weiss stepped over and asked, “May I ask what the hell happened to Jaune _this_ time?”

“We were dueling, and I accidentally threw him far harder and further than I intended,” Pyrrha replied. “His landing was… ugly.”

“Should I…?” Weiss asked uneasily.

“In short: he looked a human pretzel.” Yang said. “Just so you know, the _un_ -pretzeling process wasn’t pretty, either.”

“Uh... huh...” Weiss mumbled. “Do you need me to stay, or should I just leave…?” she asked, thumbing behind her.

“If your brain is functioning enough again for Pit Fighter business, sure!” Yang said.

“I’ve made quite a lot of progress on the weapon choice front, it’d be a shame to waste this time,” Pyrrha added.

Weiss nodded, and sat down with them. “So how’s it going, exactly?”

“If we’re being thorough about it, I’m halfway through the process,” Pyrrha replied. “I’ve got a good idea of what I’m looking for out of a melee weapon, but I still haven’t extensively explored Fae firearms, past AFA replicas and equivalents.”

“You should join us at the range later, Weiss!” Yang said. “Get a feel for how the Fae deal death from a distance.”

“I would rather not.” Weiss replied. “I don’t think you quite grasp just how much less physical activity I can handle compared to everyone else.”

“I meant in a mental, tactical sense, see what you might go up against in person!” Yang said. “You’ve barely got any experience with firearms, plus the special ammo will give you a great idea of what happens when you mix elements up! Nothing wrong with your using pure, but you miss out on useful things like Melty Wash that way.”

Weiss blinked. “’Melty Wash’…?”

“Melty Wash,” Yang repeated, nodding. “It sounds just as stupid in Actaeon, don’t worry.” She winced as her stomach growled. “Ugh, all this drama made me forget how hungry I am—come on, let’s go get some grub and a nap, then on to lighting shit up!” she said, getting up. “You coming, Weiss?”

Weiss opened her mouth, before she shut it and shrugged. “I suppose so! I figured I needed to get out of bed and do _something_ productive today, anyway...”

“That’s the spirit, Princess!” Yang cried, slapping her on the back.

Weiss yelped, before she glared icily at her.

“Sorry,” Yang whispered, putting her hands up.

* * *

Jaune was left in his cabin, Taiyang and Penny stayed behind to take care of him and keep him company. Everyone else had lunch and rested a while, before discussing Pyrrha’s firearms training.

As elementally-infused ammo, alchemical grenades, chemical weapons and the like needed to be specially ordered by and used under the supervision of a senior watcher or other qualified individual, and Qrow was _far_ too drunk at the moment, they started out with the standard Fae firearms.

In contrast to the practical, sleek, and streamlined AFA guns Pyrrha was used to, the Fae practically made it a point to have their guns as flashy and embellished as possible. Every one of them seemed to have as many engravings, stylized components, and decorations as they could possibly add without compromising function _too_ much, like an iron sight made out of some long-dead predator’s skull, the gun barrel coming out of its jaws

Metal and wood were the materials of choice for most of them, all manner of colours, grains, and sheen from the varieties, mixtures, and treatments, with the rest of the parts made from bone, rock, crystal, plant fibers, and whatever else the Fae could get their hands or hand-equivalents on. There was barely any built-in magitech to be seen, no small-form targeting systems, recoil adjusters, or ammo management systems, just physical springs, levers, hammers, revolvers, and whatever else.

“So if you keep on missing all the time, you can’t blame it on faulty calibrations or cheap hardware,” Yang said, smiling.

They began with a selection of simple firearms at the range to help Pyrrha get used to the intense recoil, the firing and loading mechanisms, and the sheer weight and heft they had. Then, Yang, Ren, and Nora started preparing themselves and the training grounds for mock matches, built a multi-tiered arena up in the trees, and a small, claustrophobic maze near the water.

Weiss and Cheese ended up officiating. “Fighters ready?” the former asked as they sat at a safe location, observing via comm-crystal feeds.

“Aye!” the four of them replied.

“Then fight!” Weiss replied, before Cheese activated a switch to blow the horn.

Explosions and gunfire echoed all throughout the training grounds, scaring off the wildlife that hadn’t already fled. Barriers, walls and floors, and obstacles were patched up or replaced with speed and efficiency Weiss thought was only possible with armies of highly specialized and advanced worker drones. Crates upon crates of ammunition, throwing weapons, and explosives were brought out from the shed, with plenty more easily brought out from the shed, and the seemingly endless storage tunnels underneath it.

Pyrrha tried out a “Slugthrower” pistol, so powerful a single shot could punch clean through a wooden barrier, while still light enough to be paired with a shield. The next match had her carting around a “Stormbringer” cannon, raining explosive mayhem down over an area, or firing it like a super-sized shotgun. And with a change to lighter, stealthier armour, she tried out a “Nightstalker” bow, firing almost straight and penetrating armour whatever the distance, and so quiet you could barely hear it, especially with a much, _much_ louder and attention-grabbing teammate to cover for you.

On the other team, Ren switched out his sickles for twin “Shredders,” submachineguns he could easily fire simultaneously, while walking, running, jumping, sliding, or dashing along or up walls; a “Stinger” rifle that could fire accurate, armour-piercing bursts at long distance; “Windsingers,” the wingblades’ ranged cousin, dealing in paralyzing flechettes; and numerous other firearms and ranged weapons.

“Why do you even have so many weapons and live munitions just laying around waiting to be used?!” Weiss asked during a break. “Does the Council insist that the Keeper is able to equip an army at a moment’s notice, all from the comfort of her home?”

“Yes.” Ren replied, nodding.

They stopped only to patch up armour, treat injuries, and refuel and rehydrate, plus energy drinks to keep them at their peaks. Eventually though, the sun set, aches and wounds hurt too much for the painkillers to suppress, and they were starting to get too jittery from the stimulants.

“Let’s call it a day,” Yang said, shifting from foot to foot. “I think you’ve got a good enough feel for conventional arms, and Uncle Qrow should be sober enough to supervise elemental weapon training tomorrow.

“Weiss, you go call Uncle Qrow, get a specific time from him and make him promise he’ll be sober then. Everyone else, CD, then get ready to pack up for the night.”

Unfortunately, Qrow only had bad news. Because munitions were at a premium for the expeditions, and the training was mostly for Pyrrha, they required someone more consistently sober than Qrow to teach her, especially the preparation for the licensing exam.

“ _Basically, this puts your chances of getting elemental weapons for the next couple of months at ‘Zilch.’”_ he finished.

“Oh, _come on!”_ Yang yelled. “Can’t you help us out, Uncle Qrow? You’ve _got_ to have some favours you can call in!”

“ _I do, but it’s for me to decide if it’ll be worth it,”_ Qrow replied. _“And since this’d be at least three, it’s not._ _Good luck, kiddos!_ _”_ he said, before he hung up.

Yang scowled, before she hung her head.

“So what do we do now?” Pyrrha asked.

“You pick something, anything, that you think will work, either for the long term, or until we can get you a license,” Yang said, raising her head.

Pyrrha nodded. “I’ve got just the idea, actually...” she said, turning over to the weapon racks in the distance. “And if none of you mind, I’d like to be a bit… unnecessarily dramatic about it.”

Eyebrows rose, Nora turned to look at Pyrrha with a serious expression. “Okay, you have _got_ to do whatever idea it is that’s in your head right now, you can’t just say something like that then not follow up on it.”

“Ditto that!” Yang said. “You need a hand?”

“I’d like that, actually,” Pyrrha said. “But just one of you: I’d like to keep it a surprise for the rest.”

Nora squealed. “Oooh, a surprise! I can’t wait!”

So it was that later that evening, after the ammo, tools, and weapons were packed away or covered up, Yang called Weiss, Nora, and Ren to a makeshift stage, a tree branch and cloth for a curtain, a lamp on the floor as a spotlight, and a bench for seating. After making sure they sat split apart with a very generous gap in the middle (and refusing to explain why), Yang hurried over to the front of the curtain.

She grinned as she played a generic drum roll from her comm-crystal. “Ladies and gentleman, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Pyrrha Nikos, now equipped and ready for her big debut at the Pits!”

_Fwoosh!_

A flaming spear shot out from behind the curtain and set it on fire, before embedding itself into a tree. Ren, Nora, and Weiss turned their heads back to the stage and watched Pyrrha stepped through the burning scraps of fabric and into view, her new bracers gleaming beautifully in the light.

She thrust a hand forward and grasped the air, the runes on the metal glowing bright.

_Thack!_

The spear ripped itself right out of the tree, shooting back towards Pyrrha. She caught just as it was about to pass her by, whirling it around her and surrounding herself in flames, till she whipped out her shield from her back, snuffing them out with a burst of energy.

She holstered her weapons, pulling off her helmet, before she sheepishly asked, “Well…?”

Ren and Weiss clapped, Nora shot up out of her seat and started howling and cheering loud enough for all of them.

Pyrrha blushed, and bowed, before she stepped off the stage.

“Okay, once we’ve got some decent equipment and pimped them out, we are SO doing this again as a team,” Yang said, grinning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t Pyrrha’s weapon’s final form, just so you know, there’s quite a bit of personal modifications and adjustments in the future once she has the time, the experience, the money, and the licenses for it.


	32. Chapter 32

As soon as Pyrrha changed out of her armour, Yang exploded into renewed talk about the Furies’ strategies and training routines. Weiss, however, decided she had had enough for the day, and told her as much.

“Fine, fine, you go rest up, but you’ll _have_ to get up to speed on all our plans first thing tomorrow morning, alright?” Yang replied. “We’ll only have so much time to prepare and practice for our debut, and I want as much of it used as efficiently as possible.”

“I will, I will,” Weiss replied.

So it was that morning the next day she found herself settled at the kitchen table, a mug of freshly brewed coffee in one hand, her other hand scrolling through the messages, files, and plans Yang had sent overnight.

“Is that a combat strategy, or a heavily modified choreography from your Swordplay Society days?” Winter asked as she peered over her shoulder.

“The former, though I have to admit there might be a _very_ sizable overlap with the latter,” Weiss replied.

Winter nodded. “You know, I have to wonder what your old instructors would think, if they ever learned that you’re using your _stage_ combat skills for _actual_ combat.”

“Probably none too pleased about it.” Weiss replied.

Winter hummed. “I can imagine having barely any rehearsals, with a team you’ve only worked with once for your big, public debut would have a great deal to do with it.”

Weiss snorted softly. “It really would,” she said, before she got back to it. By noon, Yang and Pyrrha had joined her, especially now that they’d gotten their official summons, a “Mighty 99” event in two weeks time.

“The way it goes is, you take 99 Fae, put them into three-folk teams, let them loose all at once into a giant arena, then it’s no holds barred, shrinking the battlefield until at least one team or their last member is left standing.” Yang explained. “Usually after about twenty, thirty minutes, tops.”

“So we’ll basically be thrown straight into complete anarchy and chaos, is what you’re saying?” Weiss asked.

“Yes, but it’ll be to our advantage!” Yang said, before she took a sip from her water glass. “At this level, I guarantee you like, 70-85% of those teams are total strangers slapped together that day, so their coordination skills will be shit, and their strategy will just be, ‘Attack, or help attack, whoever’s within the immediate area and doesn’t look TOO out of our league.’

“If we focus on avoiding conflict and defensive tactics, we can save a lot of energy, effort, and risk by waiting for most of them to take each other out, then direct it towards the coordinated, competent teams who’ll be left by the halfway point. We probably won’t last farther than that, but it’s less humiliating than being eliminated right out of the starting gate.

Weiss nodded. “Anything in particular you want me to do, in preparation for when we can train together as a team? Improve on my cardio, perhaps?”

“No, no, it’ll take weeks to months for us to see any significant gains, you should just focus on your magic for now,” Yang said. “It’s your greatest contribution to our team-comp, and worst comes to worst, you could always learn how to cast riding on Pyrrha’s back!”

Weiss scowled. “That’s not funny, Yang!”

“Who said I was joking?” Yang replied.

And so, after some arguments about what more unusual tactics and strategies they could and could not use, the Furies began to train for their debut, Pyrrha and Yang in the Grove, Weiss in the Weaver’s Terrace, and together in Abner’s Raucous Room whenever they could.

“We won’t be doing anything particularly dramatic and crazy in there, will we?” Weiss had asked.

“We won’t, we won’t!” Yang said. “The golems will be firing blanks or at their weakest possible levels, you should worry about getting out of the scenarios I’ll have the Doc put us through.”

“Like what, exactly?” Pyrrha asked.

_Boom!_

An explosion threw Weiss face-first onto the ground, bits and pieces of her ice shield flying all around her. A hail of bullets followed, she scrambled behind a wooden door ripped off its hinges, curling up and making herself as small as possible. “I’m pinned down, help!” she yelled.

“ _Busy_ _!”_ Yang cried as she fought with two golems at once, blocking and dodging sword slashes and kicks on either side of her.

_Krszhht!_

Pyrrha stabbed the swordsman in the back, before she yanked it backwards, sending its swing wide. Yang easily dodged under the blade and grabbed the kickboxer’s leg, hurled him into his partner, and sent them sprawling on the ground. With two quick, precise stabs from Pyrrha, they _stayed_ down.

“Fucking _nice!”_ Yang cried, clapping Pyrrha on the arm.

“Thank you.” Pyrrha said quickly.

“ _STILL PINNED HERE!”_ Weiss yelled, putting her free hand against the door, plugging the ever growing holes and cracks with ice.

“We’re coming!” Yang cried as she and Pyrrha charged after her.

Pyrrha hefted her spear up, looked at the gunner up on the roof across Weiss, gauged the distance with her thumb.

_Thoom!_

The spear went rocketing through the air with a fiery backblast, impaling the gunner and killing it instantly. Yang rushed towards Weiss and pulled her back up to her feet, leading her off to safety as Pyrrha tried to get her spear back. And high up above them, an assassin golem decided to strike as their backs were turned against each other.

It dropped on top of Weiss, yanking Yang down with her before it quickly stabbed them both in the neck or the heart with its energy daggers. It climbed off of them and pounced at Pyrrha; still unarmed, she could only wrestle with it before it pulled her down and started stabbing her repeatedly.

The horn sounded, the assassin climbed off of Pyrrha, and offered its hand. _“Shall we try this particular scenario again?”_ Abner asked as it helped her back up to her feet.

“Let’s please change it up,” Weiss groaned, taking a sip of the mana water on her belt. “I am getting real of sick of urban warfare.”

“I agree, the consistent losses are getting demoralizing,” Pyrrha said, lifting her helmet’s face plate and dabbing the sweat of her skin.

“That’s two out of three, Doc, let’s see what else you’ve got in store for us today!” Yang said.

Abner sighed, and said, _“Oh, alright._ _Please stand aside_ _for remodeling!”_

The Furies went to a far corner of the Raucous Room, and watched as the battle-scarred, crumbling, and claustrophobic city ruins before them began to glow and shimmer, either warped out or used as raw material for their new arena:

A wide and open field, abounding with thick, vibrant foliage, numerous caves and crags to hide in or fall into, with a handful of artificial structures like towers, barricades, and stockpiles for spare ammo and supplies.

“You know, seeing all this, I really can’t help but wonder what humanity could do, if they had access to this sort of magitech also,” Pyrrha said wistfully.

“ _As someone who’s studied it extensively: quite a lot of good and bad, erring much more on the latter,”_ Abner replied. _“History can wait though: you’ve got training to do!”_

And train they did, so much that Weiss’ life seemed to start to completely revolve and shift around it.

Rest time between training sessions and classes at the Terrace were spent researching combat tactics, spell combinations for weavers, and common mistakes and weaknesses in Dust league fighters. Her work in the laboratory was now trying to manufacture restoratives, oftentimes with help from Bee and Nami. And of course, there was the dramatic change in her daily meals to account for all the energy she was burning.

_Thunk!_

Taiyang laid down a giant serving dish of mashed sweet potatoes, sighing before he grinned and spread his arms out over the rest of the colourful, vibrant, and massive spread. “Dig in, ladies!” he said.

“With pleasure!” Yang said, scooping up and grabbing nearly everything available onto her plate, piling it up high.

“Thank you, Taiyang,” Pyrrha said, doing the same with much more restraint.

Weiss just stared at all the food, the carb-heavy dishes especially. “This seems like a lot of food for just the three of us, don’t you think?”

Taiyang smiled. “No, actually—you want to fight toe-to-toe with Fae, you gotta fuel yourself like them.”

“Fair point,” Weiss said, before she put a small selection from everything on her plate. She tried to eat slow and restrained, but after a few bites and her stomach growling like a wild animal, she was chowing down and grabbing seconds like the others.

She left the dining table smiling and satisfied, but by the time she was laying on her side in her nest, she was frowning and miserable, calling Penny up on her comm-crystal and silently wishing she would pick up already.

“Hello, Weiss!” Penny said cheerfully, a static, smiling image of her normal face on the screen. “My apologies for the significant delay, I was busy with other matters. Anyway, how may I help you?”

“Do you think I’m going to get fat from all this extra food I’ve been eating?” Weiss asked quickly. “I know I’m burning off most of it, but I’m worried my body won’t be able to keep.”

“I am sorry to say it, but weight gain is _extremely_ likely.” Penny said, the image switching to a graver, more serious expression. “In the interest of full disclosure, we do not know and cannot predict exactly _how_ your magic and Valley-sourced food will affect your physiology in the long-run, but most weavers in similar situations as you have experienced this.”

Weiss balked. “Is there anything I can do about it? Anything at all?”

“Except for immediately quitting the Furies, Aeilana’s and Tygan’s classes, abandoning all your future plans of venturing outside the Bastion, and specializing into much less energy-intensive forms of elemental weaving?” Penny replied. “None.”

“ _You can’t be serious!”_ Weiss cried, her voice cracking.

“I am.” Penny replied. “On a related note, Weiss, I have been regularly receiving reports, statistics, and observations about your training and your classes at the Terrace, and it’s clear you are expending far, far, far more calories than you ever have before. It is far, _far_ safer for you to consume more calories and carbohydrates than you might require, and even intentionally gain weight and fat stores in anticipation of ever increasing escalation in your activities.

“I assure you, the consequences of intentionally or accidentally your forcing your body to break down muscle tissue for spellcasting are MUCH more dramatic and unpleasant than dealing with some extra pounds for the immediate future.”

“And you’re sure about this?” Weiss asked. “Completely, absolutely, 100% sure there is no way I can keep this from happening and still continue my plans?”

“Yes, and I highly suggest you don’t look into any particularly dramatic and risky solutions,” Penny said, a stern looking face on the holo now. It switched to a curious expression as she asked, “Is maintaining your current figure and weight really that important to you, even compared to paying off your debt with the Plushie Palace?”

“Yes!” Weiss cried, before she flinched, and said, “I mean, no, it’s--” she groaned. “Look, it is _really_ complicated, and I don’t want to get into it right now, alright?”

“Noted.” Penny said, her face turning neutral. “I really have to stress the fact, Weiss, that you will have to choose between continuing your current plans, or maintaining your current weight and figure. There just is no way to get around it, safely or even at all.”

Weiss fumed, her fingers clenched and frost beginning to pour out of her palms, before she sighed, and released them. “You know, this is one of those times where I wonder if it would have been better for all of us if we never discovered my powers, and I was still just growing sweet potatoes in the farm...”

“And I advise not to put too much thought on that ‘What If.’” Penny hummed. “It seems there is not much else I can help you with on this matter, do you have any other concerns you wished to discuss?”

“No, thanks for the talk, Penny.” Weiss muttered.

“You are welcome, Weiss.” Penny said, a subdued smile on her image before she hung up.

Weiss sighed, closing her comm-crystal before she stood up, stepped in front of the full-length mirror in the corner, and took off her nightgown. She spent a few minutes examining herself, hesitantly pinching around her hips and thighs, before she groaned, put her clothes back on, and laid back in her nest

“It’s not going to do _anyone_ any good if you’re even the slightest bit sleep deprived,” she thought as she prepared to go to sleep.

The days continued to pass, the Furies’ grand debut getting closer and closer. Aside from a short-lived endeavour by Yang to draft their official logo, and their official fan page along with it, nothing much of note happened, until two days before the event, when Yang and Weiss got a message from Ruby. It read:

_Hey Weiss, Yang!_

_Sorry for going completely silent for the last two weeks, the work has just been non-stop since I got off the boat, no time at all to just sit down and try to write. Guess exciting things to happen while I’m on long, boring trips, huh?_

_Anyway, I heard you two and Pyrrha are a Pit Fighter Team now, and lucky me, it looks like things have quieted down enough that I can catch a break can watch your big debut! It sucks I won’t be able do it live from the stands, but I’ll still be cheering and yelling my lungs out for you three!_

_Break a lot of legs in there,_

_Ruby_

“You two seem to be in particularly high spirits today!” Pyrrha said as they prepared to go to Abner’s laboratory. “Something happen?”

“Oh, Ruby just told us she’s going to be watching our debut live!” Yang replied, beaming. “Nothing like knowing you’ve got your biggest fan in the audience, eh, Weiss?” she asked, elbowing her in the side.

“Right.” Weiss replied, smiling.

Then, on the dawn of the big day, Ruby sent a new, much shorter letter:

_New long-term deployment orders came in. No emergency, but I’ve got to be on the first transport out of here. It’s going underground, so comms and bandwidth allowances will be_ way  _limited, and I won’t be able to watch your debut match after all._

_Sorry for getting your hopes up. I swear, one of these days, I’ll be cheering for you guys in the stands and waiting for you in the lobby._

_Love,_

_Ruby_

“Did something new happen?” Pyrrha asked softly, peering at her teammates in concern.

“Just the usual,” Yang said as she picked up her and Weiss’ equipment bags, the two of them made for the door. “Come on, let’s go; we can’t be late for our first fight, nor do you want to be stuck in the locker rooms once folks begin to rush.”

Pyrrha frowned and looked at them both in concern, before she nodded and followed suit.


	33. Chapter 33

The Furies were fully armed and armoured now, standing nearly shoulder-to-shoulder together in a dugout with several other teams, all of them wearing distinctly coloured and designed bands, and temporary paint jobs on their armour and shields to mark allegiances.

True to Yang’s words, most of  them  were clearly just randomly put together for that match alone,  busy  making introductions  and temporary alliances , trying to hash out strategies mere minutes before the fight, or butt  heads  and talk trash,  with their enemies or otherwise .  The rest were  largely  quiet, eyeing and  sizing up  potential threats, or perhaps  taking note of  easy targets  to eliminate then  loot for valuable supplies  and ammunition .

_Beeep._

There was a sudden influx of fighters from the entrances behind them, before they locked shut with loud, ominous groans, and glaring red lights; some were latecomers, others were last-minute replacements pulled from the Pits’ spotters. The crowding worsened dramatically, Weiss getting sandwiched between Yang and Pyrrha and their hard, unforgiving armour, but thankfully, it wouldn’t be for long—already, alarms began to flash; signs, countdown timers, and holos blazed to life; and the audio system came to life.

**< 99!> ** an announcer cried.  _ <99 fighters of Dust will do battle today, three to a team, no restrictions, no handicaps, no mercy,  _ only bloodshed!>

The crowd exploded into roars, howls, and cheers, many of them stomping their hind hooves, paws, talons, or whatever else they had, the sound echoing in and shaking the walls of the dugout. Some of the fighters joined in, whooping and stomping along with them, but were quickly silenced.

 _< In the Forgotten City they will fight, __with_ _its labyrinthine streets, its crumbling_ _buildings_ _and bridges, its treacherous alleys and rooftops! >_ a second announcer continued. _< Who will rise from these __ruins_ _and to glorious victory, and who will fall,_ _to be forgotten as this land was_ _? >_

The gates to the arena were opening now, launchpads turning on and charging, fighters and spotters alike getting ready to spring into action.

Together, the announcers asked, _< Fighters ready?!>_

As one, the fighters cried: **< AYE!>**

**< THEN FIGHT…!>**

_Boom. Fwoosh._

Fireworks and flames shot out from the sides of each gate and the launchpads, the deafening sounds of cheering fans, pounding rock music, and dozens of Fae charging and crying out echoing in the arena. The Furies ended up pushed to the launchpads, two spotters ensuring that all teams launched together, and anyone hesitating to step onto the air-infused platforms was pulled onto it immediately.

_Whoom. Whoom. Whoom._

Teams shot out surrounded by rushing winds, their parachutes and protection against gunfire, missiles, and spells. To the left, to the right, or straight onward, they were launched anywhere and everywhere at random at ridiculously high speed, the arena beneath you but a blur as you flew, impossible to tell where you’d land until you were solidly back on the ground.

The Furies ended up on a low, wide rooftop, separated by crumbling walls, wooden barricades, and a long dead, petrified and scarred tree. The magic continued to swirl around them for a few seconds, giving them time to get their bearings and draw their weapons, or in Yang’s case, raise her fists and show off the new scarred, battered metal bracers on her forearms.

“Be extra alert the moment cross the second, magic barriers, or our air parachutes disappear,” Yang had said during their strategy sessions. “The moment it happens, you’re officially a legal target, and a LOT of folks won’t hesitate to ambush us then and there.”

And in that moment, Weiss found out just how many.

**< RAAAGGHH…!>**

_Crash!_

Weiss jumped as a hammer-wielding fighter smashed straight through a wall, preparing another swing as his teammates rushed through the hole and readied their guns. Yang immediately grabbed Weiss’ arm and took off to the nearest exit, Pyrrha followed after them, taking the brunt of the gunfire.

Down the nearest set of stairs they went, heads down, shield up, running past or knocking aside fighters taking the same route, stepping aside or jumping over the ones that had already been downed or killed, putting as much distance and other fighters between them and the scores of ambushers.

They made it outside of the building and onto the street, just in time to see someone in the alley across aiming her launcher right at them. There was an obnoxiously loud beep, a flashing red light, and a slight delay before a rocket shot out.

_Fwoosh._

Yang leaped to the side, Pyrrha threw herself on top of Weiss, covering her.

_Boom._

Almost all of the wall and a section of the floor above it collapsed almost instantly, cries and screams piercing the air as fighters fell, or were buried alive. Pyrrha crawled off of Weiss, Weiss looked at the ruins, the still bodies, and exposed limbs in horror…

… Until they quickly started moving again, digging themselves and their teammates out, injured but all too ready to charge into battle or return fire.

Yang marked a spot just ahead, an arrow appearing in the Furies’ HUDs; with so many bullets and spells flying above them, they made their way to it crawling on their stomachs.

They escaped the melee, and as planned, they started running, hiding, and baiting opponents into fighting each other if they could help it. There was barely any breath nor time to spare to talk, the Furies communicating only through more pings and markers or hand gestures, steering far away from wherever the sounds of battle, death, and gunfire were especially loud.

Then, by the ten minute mark, a horn sounded, clearly heard over the roar of the crowd and the chaos in the arena.

_< A third of the fighters have fallen, cut down before the dust at the gates had even settled!>_

Lights and warning alarms began to flash in certain sections of the arena; the magical barriers within the gates began to move and shrink the arena; fighters began to break off from battle, to flee from the soon-to-be-restricted areas, or rush to the flashing beacons of the incoming supply drops.

  


_<_ _Now comes the greater test of their fighting spirits! Whose will continue to burn strong and bright? Whose already flicker, ready to be snuffed out? And whose will grow hotter, brighter, and more furious still?! >_

The Furies stopped running, hiding inside an abandoned building, catching their breaths, patching up the worst of the damage to their armour. Most of the fighters neraby ignored them or didn’t even notice them, low on ammo and supplies, treating their own wounds, or trying to find a better position for later.

“Gah...!” Weiss groaned as she pulled a canteen of regular water from her lips. “That was tiring...”

“Don’t tell me you’re already out of gas, Princess, we haven’t even actually started fighting yet!” Yang teased.

Weiss glared at her from beneath her mask. “I assure you, I am not _that_ tired,” she said as he put her canteen back on her belt.

“Then shall we go hunting now?” Pyrrha asked, pulling her spear from her back. “I’ll be honest, I can’t _wait_ to break this in.”

Yang looked over to a distant rooftop where a supply crate beacon was still flashing, alongside gunfire, magical spells, and the one unlucky soul trapped in a bubble of fluorescent purple magic. She turned back to the others, nodded, and said, “Yeah, this is a good time, I’m sure.”

And so the Furies began to hunt.

They stayed away from the fights over the supply crates with their all-out melees and ambushes, instead roaming around the edges of the ever-shrinking arena. The ensuing battles were quick, dirty, and efficient:

They found two fighters with melee weapons roaming a street, Yang ran into view, screamed, cursed, and ran back the way she came. They charged after her, Pyrrha tripped one and stabbed him as he was down, Weiss blasted the other in the face with frost, blinding her and giving Yang the opportunity to punch her in the back of the head.

They ran into a 2v2, one side with a sniper shooting recovery bullets that kept her tank of a teammate going in spite the two fighters flanking him. Weiss threw in a looted smoke bomb and a frost grenade of her own, both exploding in blinding mist. The sniper panicked as they watched the Furies run in shortly after, tried to switch out to a clip of regular bullets.

The cloud dispersed, only the tank was still up, in a fistfight with Yang as Weiss and Pyrrha both stabbed the other two to death. The sniper aimed for Weiss’ head, took a sharp, panicked breath, before she pulled the trigger, activating the sensor for the light on the barrel.

_Shing._

Pyrrha noticed the flash, grabbed Weiss and spun her around, covering her. The bullet struck her chest armour, she spun back around, and threw her spear.

_Thoom._

Weiss could see the sniper’s surprise, standing still and dumbstruck, before Pyrrha magnetized her spear right out of her chest, and she collapsed face-first on the ground.

“Okay, how the _hell_ do you pull off a snap-shot like that with a _rocket spear?”_ Weiss asked as they looted useful supplies from the bodies.

Underneath her helmet, Pyrrha blushed, and said, “I supplemented my regular training with some very… _niche_ Trance simulations.”

Yang chuckled as she got up and pocketed some new healing items. “Was it from Solaris? I bet it was from Solaris.”

Pyrrha didn’t reply, just marked a new spot on the map.

The red, restricted areas continued to grow, the barriers moving faster and the timers  to  get inside them going ever lower,  the fighters forced to run,  and  into each other as the  arena  got tighter  and smaller . Spotters were all over  the area  now, tending to the wounded,  escorting  out the fighters  that  had been immobilized or disqualified, and  retrieving and  reviving dozens of dead bodies. A new, massive beacon  appeared ,  guiding the surviving teams to the  last battleground :

An open-air market, a large fountain in the center of the square, broken and crumbled crates, wagons, and stalls  scattered all around .

_< Less than a third of the fighters remain! The battle will soon reach its peak!>_

_< Exhaustion! Desperation! Determination! What does Fate have in store as all three come to a head?!>_

The final clashes were already well underway by the time the Furies got within sight of it, bullets and spells flying everywhere, mana water canisters and healing items burned through at record paces, buildings and cover being exploded and disintegrated as fighters struggled to be the last team standing.

“Come on!” Pyrrha cried, her armour scarred, burned, and battered, the magical barriers rapidly closing in behind them.

“Can we even win this?!” Weiss gasped.

“ _Probably not!”_ Yang cried. “Anyway: Weiss, snowglobe!” she cried as she scooped her up into her arms.

Weiss sucked in a deep breath, before she held her runeblade in her hands, channeling as much power as she had left into it, before willing it to form into a spherical barrier around them. She had no idea how long it would last, or if it would even make an appreciable difference to their survival, but she **had** to try.

“This is why you’re here, Weiss!” she thought to herself as they neared an arch leading into the square. “This is why you’re on this team over anyone else, your place in this group, what makes you indispensable! You can—

“—No, you **will** do this!”

Her runeblade glowed bright blue, fully-charged, the spell ready to fire just as they passed through the arch… then, two fighters waiting behind the columns opened fire with a log cannon and a shotgun. They blasted Pyrrha in the back and onto her knees, pumped Yang full of slugs and sent her and Weiss crashing and rolling on the ground.

 _< Fucking _**cowards…! >** Yang gasped as they ran in to finish them off.

 _< It’s a legitimate strategy!> _one of them said quickly, before he aimed for Yang’s head this time.

_Bang. Bang._

Weiss saw their ambushers get a high-caliber round to the head each. A fighter with a slugthrower ran in and put in two more, before he reloaded and did the same to Pyrrha and Yang. He hesitated as he recognized Weiss, the barrel already aimed at her head, his claw on the trigger.

<Nothing personal, Keeper’s mate.>

_Bang. Bang._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For obvious reasons, the Pits do not allow fighters to be armed nor armoured in the public areas, except for _very_ carefully controlled and planned events. Instead, personal equipment has to be deposited at secluded, heavily guarded areas, and taken by servers and trained animals to designated locker rooms just outside the arenas proper. This is also where rented equipment like Weiss’ loaner set and Yang’s current gear is stored, and can be acquired and used by spotters and fighters alike.
> 
> They are a mix of large, open public areas, and smaller, generally more amenity-filled private areas, rented by individuals and organizations, Pit fighter unions especially. The more influential and affluent of them even go so far as to lease facilities for years if not _decades_ at a time, if they haven’t commissioned the construction of entirely new structures for their exclusive use. These private facilities are oftentimes steeped in tradition and their own rules and regulations alongside the Pits’. 
> 
> Pits ammunition, weapons, armour, and modifications for all three are designed to harm and disable more than kill and permanently cripple, their damage mostly being from their force of impact than damage to internal organs. It’s like the difference between being punched with a fist, VS stabbed with a knife. Specifics vary by event, but generally, Fae VS Wild events have ammo and weapons that are almost entirely the same as what the Roost uses outside the walls.


	34. Chapter 34

The moment the match ended and the last two survivors had their precious fifteen seconds in the spotlight, the spotters rushed in, treating the worst injured and reviving the dead, before shipping them all out to the medical facilities, the reconstruction and maintenance teams maneuvering around them.

Weiss’ mask had shattered from the slugthrower shots, causing her HUD and the optics to glitch or fail entirely, and the just-treated head trauma wasn’t doing her much favours, either. Everything passed by in a confusing, muddled, mess of lights, muted voices, and all manner of smells, like sweat, blood, gunpowder, ozone, and freshly turned earth.

She was moved from her stretcher to a proper hospital bed, dedicated menders with professional equipment tending to her almost immediately. Her mask and its fragments were carefully removed, wounds were healed, and her overall condition was stabilized. Everything started come back into clear focus…

… Though there was a part of Weiss that immediately wished she could go back into that vague haze.

The air was filled with the sounds of suffering, Fae writhing, desperately clutching limbs and parts of their bodies, or being operated on; the rapid, almost incoherent chatter and calls of the menders, moving from patient to patient as quickly and efficiently as they could; and the white noise from the curtained off section, blocking most of the disturbing, concerning sounds from the other side.

There were numerous colourful plants strewn about as usual, to give colour, life, and pleasant scents to the ward, but Weiss found it only made the sheer number of broken bodies and suffering souls even more disturbing.

She was all too happy to be discharged very quickly, wheeled off and deposited in a hall leading back to the locker rooms. Soon, she was dressed back in her civilian clothes, standing in a quiet corner in the lobby with her equipment bag laying by her feet. “Waiting at the lobby for you guys,” she wrote in a message, taking a quick shot of her surroundings before she sent it, and waited for them.

Half an hour later, Weiss was now sitting on her bag with her face in her hands, in the middle of a new internal debate about whether she should just go home and inform the others.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, your Highness!”

Weiss looked up, smiled and shot up to her feet as she saw Yang and Pyrrha walking up to her, bandaged up but otherwise okay. She took a moment to compose herself and temper her emotions, before she asked, “What took you two so long? I was worried something serious had happened to the both of you!”

“It was nothing more than the culmination of all the many hits we took during the match,” Pyrrha replied. “We’ll be benched for the next few days, and minimize the weight we carry, too, but they say we’ll make a decent enough recovery.”

“FYI, our equipment bags are near the limit, so sorry to say you’re hauling yourself and your gear back to the Grove on your own.” Yang finished.

Weiss sighed, before she said, “Alright.” She picked her bag back up with a grunt, before she asked, “Ready to go home?”

“Absolutely!” Yang said, nodding. “Dad’s already got a post-match feast ready for us, and there’s no way I’m letting it get cold. Furies, out!” she cried, dramatically raising her arm up.

Pyrrha chuckled, Weiss rolled her eyes, Yang winced and sheepishly put her arm back down, before they all headed out to the nearest Tube station. By coincidence, the original Furies were coming in at the same time; the two groups saw each other, locked eyes for a moment, before they looked away, and passed by each other without a word or a second glance.

* * *

_Boom. Pffrttt!_

Confetti and party blowers greeted the Furies as soon as they stepped through the door, a banner hanging from the ceiling, “Congratulations on 23rd Place!”, with the “23rd” noticeably messier and hastily written than the rest of the letters.

Nora pulled the party blower from her mouth, and cried, “Welcome back, Furies! How does it feel to be an official Pit fighter team, with the registration, the match record, and the scars to prove it?”

“Fucking AWESOME!” Yang cried as she strolled in through the door and dropped her bag by the side. “Man, I was so right: the Underground has got _shit_ on the real thing!”

“Looks like all those years sneaking out of the house and joining them are finally paying off, eh?” Taiyang said, looking stern for a moment, before he smiled, and said, “Come on to the kitchen, you three, you must be hungry after all that action!”

Weiss caught whiff of fried and baked food wafting from the kitchen, and her stomach immediately, loudly growled.

“Weiss in particular, it seems.” Pyrrha hummed.

The others chuckled or smirked, Weiss blushed as the Furies headed to the kitchen, and proceeded to gorge themselves on homemade fries, pizza, and ice cream. Later, they took what was left with them to the living room, polishing it off as they rewatched and reviewed their performance earlier. Weiss couldn’t help but cringe as they reached their end, ambushed then shot in the head.

“Please, forgive me for that...” Weiss muttered.

“What, the campers?” Yang asked as she rewound the footage, and switched to a different feed at another angle. “Unless you’re about to tell us how exactly you sprung a devious trap on ourselves, I’d say we all just got really careless at the clutch.”

“I meant the snowglobe maneuver,” Weiss replied. “If I’d channeled and cast just a second or two faster, then maybe we could have survived that ambush and tried to turn it around.”

“Perhaps, but I’m certain it would only have added a few more seconds to our time,” Pyrrha said, taking the remote from Yang. “Look”--she zoomed in and paused—“our killer was already roaming the outskirts, and I doubt he wouldn’t have taken the opportunity to take out at least one of us, after we took out our ambushers.

“I also distinctly recall that slugthrowers are made to pierce through armour and barriers with ease; you might have only been able to slow it down even with a focused, actively channeled shield, so I doubt an all-purpose barrier spread out around three fighters would fare much better.”

“In short: wasn’t your fault, Weiss, we just happened to be one of those teams caught in a bad situation.” Yang said, nodding.

Weiss hummed. “So what do you suggest we do before our next match, to keep something like this from happening again?”

“Ideally, one of us learns Sixth Sense martial arts, or you learn how to start seeing with the Flow,” Yang replied. “As that’s going to take any one of us _months_ , if not _years_ of regular practice and dedicated training, we just keep on trying to get stronger, better, and faster overall.”

“So I’m assuming all that’s really left is to coordinate a new, more sustainable schedule for training?”

“Pretty much, yeah!” Yang replied, nodding.

“Wonderful,” Weiss said as she got up. “If you’ll both excuse me, I’ll be leaving now to make preparations for my first trips outside the walls; I’ll likely have dates and times by dinner.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot you were doing those, too!” Yang said. “Whatcha hunting? Maybe me and Pyrrha can join in, and we can make it a whole team bonding exercise.”

“Rare, magically-charged plants, minerals, the odd liquid.” Weiss replied.

Yang’s face fell immediately. “Seriously? With your skills?”

“Yes, seriously,” Weiss replied, frowning. “Excluding the Pits, I’ve had _far_ too many close calls with things, people, and folks that are actively trying to kill me, and everything I’ve heard and read tells me there’s no shortage those lurking outside the Bastion. Besides, Jaune will be coming with me, and I don’t want to expose him to any more danger or suffering than is strictly necessary.”

“Alright, alright, I can see your points!” Yang said. “But when you move on up to things that fight back, don’t hesitate to call me, alright? Especially if it’s something that moves fast like a Steeltusk Boar—always wanted to know what it’s like to ride one of those bastards,” she said, smiling.

“And myself also,” Pyrrha said.

“Noted, and thank you both,” Weiss replied, before she made for the lift connecting to the main house to the barn.

* * *

To save on money, Weiss had been experimenting with making supplies herself. Some, like medicine, she wasn’t confident she could produce properly, or for cheaper and more conveniently than simply ordering commercial crates of them, but others were complete no-brainers, like dehydrating her crops, experimenting with sauces and dips for morale and nutrition’s sake, and of course, remaking Cheese into a harder, sturdier, less perishable variety.

“Well look at you!” she said as she brought him out of a temperature controlled room, now a yellow-orange wheel and rock-solid. “Ready to start heading outside the walls with me, Cheese?”

Cheese didn’t respond.

Weiss was confused for a moment, before realization hit her and she mentally facepalmed. She quickly put Cheese down on a counter, took out a knife, and carved out a line and two holes on his surface; they soon shifted and morphed, not nearly as quickly nor as dramatically as when he was soft white cheese, but the expression was familiar as it was unmistakable:

:D

“I’ll take that as a ‘Yes.’” Weiss said, smiling, before she ate the pieces from earlier. “Hmm! Sharp and salty! Now, to see how well you grate and smoke...” she said as she prepared to cut a wedge out of him.

She stopped after she heard some knocking on the door, put the knife down, and answered it.

“Hey, Weiss!” Jaune said after she opened it, awkwardly waving before he quickly put his hand down. “I’m sorry, were you busy with something?”

“Hello, Jaune,” Weiss replied. “Yes, I am, actually. Did you need something?”

“Ah, no, I was sorta going to ask _you_ that question...” Jaune muttered, “So, uh, _do_ you need help?”

“Yes, so long as you don’t mind doing a lot of food prep,” Weiss replied. “Do you have any experience with that, drying and preserving especially?”

“Oh, plenty!” Jaune said, brightening up considerably. “My family’s farm produced a lot of organic snacks for campers and the local AFA barracks alike, not to mention when we were making it for our own use!”

“Well, isn’t that a pleasant coincidence?” Weiss said, smiling. “Come on in, wash your hands and grab an apron, and let’s get to work.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Jaune said, saluting before he walked in.

“And please don’t call me ‘ma’am,’ ‘boss,’ ‘Ms. Schnee,’ or any other variety,” Weiss said, mildly annoyed. “I know you’re just trying to be polite and professional, but I’d prefer it if we could treat each other like equals.”

“Oh. Got it, Weiss,” Jaune said, nodding his head before he looked around. “What do you want me to start with?”

“Cheese,” Weiss replied, closing the door before heading over to the edibles fridge. “Go cut out a wedge then grate it, I’ll need at least four cups worth for my experiments.”

“On it!” Jaune, stopping as he saw Cheese, and Cheese looked back at him in turn.

:D

Weiss noticed. “Would you rather have a different job?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.

“No, no, no, it’s fine, I can do this!” Jaune said, hurrying over to the sink. “I’m used to eating things that had a name, a face, and feelings, it’s just… no offense, but how do you deal with the fact that he’s still, ah, ‘alive’ and knows you’re eating him…?” he asked as he turned on the faucet.

“Like most everything in the Valley, I got used to it,” Weiss replied as she took into her arms several containers of liquids and other raw ingredients. “It helps that he’s rather enthusiastic and clear about how much he enjoys being eaten, and fears going to waste. That is his one purpose as food, after all.”

“Guess so...” Jaune muttered as he continued washing his hands. Eventually, he was properly dressed and standing over Cheese, the knife in hand; he hesitated for a moment as he touched Cheese, before he quickly, neatly cut into him.

“Come on, Jaune, you’ve done way worse, messier things back home...” he thought as he started grating, trying to ignore the look of anticipation Cheese was giving him.


	35. Chapter 35

Weiss and Jaune spent the rest of the afternoon cooking and preparing rations for the trip. Thanks to Jaune’s years-long experience with making camping food and field rations, and his willingness to share his family’s recipes beside, it ended up turning what Weiss thought would be several painstaking hours of putting theory into practice, into much more enjoyable iterating, experimenting, and of course, taste-testing.

“Well?” Weiss asked as Jaune tried out some warm, chocolate-flavoured oatmeal.

“Decent enough,” Jaune replied, putting down the bowl. “Maybe you should try turning them into snackbars, it’s really not working for me as is.”

Weiss noted it on her comm-crystal. “Anything in particular that could be improved?”

“Uhh, it’s not that it’s _bad,_ it’s really more that it doesn’t compare to _champorado._ ” Jaune replied.

“ _Champo-_ what-now?”

“It’s a rice porridge made with chocolate, long, ancient history over in Solaris—though I guess you could say that about _all_ of its food…” Jaune muttered. “Anyway: it’s really good on its own but it’s even better when you pair it up with some dried sardines!”

Weiss nodded. “Salty and sweet with contrasting textures, huh?” she asked as she typed it into a search bar.

“I guess?” Jaune replied. “Sorry, I never really thought about food like this, as a chef would...”

“Don’t worry, few do,” Weiss muttered, bookmarking Codex pages where both were mentioned. “I’ll go see if we can’t expand into fishery in the coming months, the Fury will give me the ideal conditions anyway.”

Jaune nodded. “You know you _really_ don’t have to do this, Weiss; I eat well enough here in the Grove, and I’m used to eating basic field rations, and worse.”

“I know, Jaune, but please understand: I _want_ to do this.” Weiss replied. “My grandfather made it a point to always try to go above and beyond what was strictly required of him, even in the most desperate and trying times he’d experienced—or, well, more desperate and trying than the ones before.

“And no one can really argue with his results, right?” she finished, smiling.

Jaune nodded, before he looked down and sighed.

“… Did I say something wrong, Jaune…?” Weiss asked.

“No, nothing, it’s just...” Jaune sighed again. “Yeah, no, nevermind: it really is nothing.”

“It certainly doesn’t sound like ‘nothing.’” Weiss said softly. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Jaune replied. “Thanks for the concern, I appreciate it, but it’s not something I want to talk about—especially since it might make me lose my appetite. Might not be the best thing to happen right now, yeah?” he said with a smile.

“Right.” Weiss said with a nod. “Anything you’d like to try next?”

Jaune peered at the selection nearby, and said, “How about… this one…?”

* * *

A week later, just before sunrise, Jaune and Weiss were back in her laboratory, joined by Blake, Taiyang, and Penny as they prepared their supplies and equipment for their trip outside the walls. Healing potions, emergency rations and mana water, wild animal control like bait and stun grenades... the list of necessities went on and on, and this wasn’t even counting equipment they were bringing along for resource harvesting.

All in all, Jaune was carrying the most weight out of all of them, almost all of their supplies in or attached to a backpack almost as large as he was. Meanwhile, Weiss had the lightest load, carrying no more than her weapons, mediums, a handful of restoratives, and a small bag with a loop for Penny to latch onto.

“Looks like you’re all ready to go!” Taiyang said as he secured the last of Jaune’s straps and locks. “Now, just one more time to be sure: what’s the most important thing to remember while you’re out there?”

“Above all else, stay alive and come home safe,” everyone replied, Blake with some difficulty.

“Exactly!” Taiyang said, before he got the door for them. “Don’t stuff yourselves too much out there, you _really_ don’t want to spoil what I’m making for dinner tonight!”

“We’ll try not too, Taiyang, thank you!” Weiss said as they headed out, to the Tube station then Bastion’s walls.

Weiss had only seen city’s famous defense in holos, read about their features, or seen them portrayed in art pieces and murals, especially at the Tree of Life. She got the impression that they were a very serious, dignified place, a small army of watchers stationed at every gate and constantly patrolling their lengths, looking out for trouble on either side, making sure they only let the right folks in and out of the city.

In hindsight, she probably should have realized there was a good reason the footage was always from _slow_ days.

<Supplies! Supplies! Rations, medicine, traps!> cried one of the very many peddlers, her wares rising high up above her head, birds keeping watch and handing down the items. <Great prices, great selection, don’t go out unprepared!>

<Water! Soda! Tea!> cried another, armed with several hydration packs, and bags of disposable cups and bottles hanging off of them. <Hydrate! Energize! Flavour! Whatever you drink, I’ve got it!>

<Servers! Watchers! Trackers!> called out a barker, sitting cross-legged on top of a thin wooden pole. <Lower than the Guild’s rates, just as qualified, ready to go _right now_ , on your say so! Hurry, before someone snatches up all this talent!>

The area just inside the gate was like a giant, open-air market built in and around a major shipping center.

An ocean of Fae, animals, and vehicles spread out across the entire highway, moving in two distinct currents in and out of the gate, aspiring traders moving through and against them to hawk their products, if they weren’t set up on the sides with their blankets and makeshift stalls, waiting to the attention of passersby. Civilians lounged, chatted, and dined at and around food carts, decorative statues and fountains, vacant spaces in buildings, or sections of the street they’d claimed for themselves, clearly having no intention of leaving any time soon. Teenagers and especially children played right in the streets, kicking around balls; dodging and ducking around the wheels and legs of caravans’ vehicles and animals; or climbing up, standing on, or hanging off of pretty much anything and everything they could get to.

There was a massive watcher presence in the area, as in the holos, however, it seemed short of an accident that blocked or slowed the flow of traffic; violent incidents; or someone getting caught picking pockets or attempting to do away with loose cargo, they had no interest in trying to control or guide the crowds, or deal with all the clearly illegal and unauthorized business and trade going on.

Weiss and Jaune stood at the Tube station, stunned, overwhelmed by the sheer size of the crowds and the sensory overload coming from every direction. Blake noticed, grabbed their hands, and pulled them right into the crush.

For what seemed like an hour, they bumped into, squeezed through, or were pressed against so many bodies and vehicles; were greeted by so many smells pleasant and _not_ ; and beholden to all manner of sights and sounds. There was even quite literally a circus mixed in there, though the performers, their servers, and tenders were only really interested in getting their wagons and animals out safely than adding to the chaos.

Eventually, they made it to the gate, their checks went without incident, and they were waved on through.

Weiss slipped out of the crush as quickly as she could, to a patch of a grass on the side of the road. She sighed, and asked Blake, <This, _everyday_ _? >_

Blake shook her head. <Some days, teleport, some days, ride>\--she pointed to a wagon that was just passing them by--<and some days, fly,> she said, pointing up at the birds and aircraft that were coming in and taking off at an aviary/airport nearby. <And today, walk.>

“What are you guys talking about?” Jaune asked.

“Just a question about how she and the others usually travel,” Weiss replied as she wiped some sweat from her brow, straightened out her coat. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Are you?” Jaune asked.

“Yes.” Weiss replied, before casting a look at Blake.

She nodded, and they got back to the road, walking side-by-side.

For the first hour or so, they trekked on one of the Valley’s major highways, under the shade of tall trees being used as utility poles, ancient and intricate decorations and statues, and a number of businesses set up on the roadside, be they traveling carts or permanent buildings. Though not nearly as packed and unpleasant as it was back at the gate, the crowds were still huge, vehicles and animals constantly racing up and down the center lanes, numerous other folks walking the sides with them. The only animals they saw were domesticated or insects, the noise, the activity, and special wards scaring off everything else.

Then, they made a sharp turn off the highway, and the scenery began to change.

The road was still paved and well-maintained, but the decorations and statues were fewer and farther between, concentrated around the buildings there. Most of the folks and vehicles now seemed to be servers and traders hauling goods, or just passing by like Weiss was. The wilderness occupied a good chunk of the area, though it was harmless plants and herbivores, calmly going about their days, sometimes even risking crossing the road, or walking right up to folks looking for food and attention.

They passed by a shrine that looked like it had already been overrun by nature, vines and leaves covering its gate, walls, and pillars; animals nesting in various nooks and crannies; and trees growing out _several_ holes in the roof, but the tenders and weavers there showed it was far from abandoned.

“Hey, Penny, is this really the wilds?” Jaune asked. “I thought this place was supposed to be _super_ dangerous, with predators and even plants that wanted to kill and/or eat you everywhere.”

Penny activated, and said, “It is. The lack of danger is simply because we haven’t gone far enough from the Bastion, and the areas that are regularly cleared and controlled of any potential dangers.”

“So when will we get there?” Jaune asked.

“I _could_ give you a rough estimate, assuming we can follow the most linear and efficient path to our destination with minimal distractions, but I believe the better answer is: you’ll know.”

Jaune nodded, and continued walking.

The roadssoon became more cracked, overgrown, and disused, until they stopped altogether, the edges pounded into dust, the path onward made of bare dirt, trampled grass, and tracks fresh and aged. The wilderness was everywhere now, Blake constantly warning them of nearby predators and dangerous plants, scaring off animals that seemed too interested in them, dramatically changing their routes to avoid hazards both conspicuous and hidden. The only other soul they passed by was a watcher, and even then it was because she wanted to try to sell some supplies she no longer needed.

“I’m guessing we’re here?” Jaune asked, his voice trembling slightly.

“We are.” Penny replied calmly.

“Where _is_ everyone…?” Weiss asked, eyes peering every which way.

“Hide’en,” Blake replied. “Fas’er, eas’er when they don’ see, hear,” she said, gesturing out to a copse of woods.

Weiss and Jaune looked, found several pairs of eyes looking back at them, before they quickly, silently disappeared completely into the shadows. The two of them shivered and paled, before moving MUCH closer to Blake.

The dangers of the Valley were clear and constant now.

A deer strayed too close to a tree, one of its vines snagged it around the leg; it whined and panicked, kicking and struggling, only getting itself more and more tangled. Small critters with fur shaped like its leaves descended on the poor animal, pulling it upwards to its certain doom.

A pack of roaming, cow-like creatures were ambushed by some gigantic beetles bursting out from the ground, their mandibles snapping at their ankles, breaking bone if not severing it completely. They managed to fell a handful, tearing into and devouring their prey even as they screamed and struggled in agony.

Blake ordered them to halt, before she threw a rock at a harmless looking batch of plants; they immediately exploded with thick, noxious pollen. Weiss and Jaune watched as some unfortunate critters choked on it, falling out of the branches and crashing to the ground, little limbs, tails, and ears flapping and jerking about in confusion and fear, until they slowly stopped moving.

“I’m _really_ starting to see why so many of the original expeditioners were wiped out, or came back _extremely_ traumatized...” Weiss whimpered.

Finally, they made it to their destination, a cave system full of water, plant-life, and if the reports were still accurate, plenty of excess, mutation-inducing magic. None of them were harmed, but they were sweaty, tired, and hungry, so Weiss decided on an early lunch at the mouth of one of the tunnels.

“What’re we haveen?” Blake asked as she started pulling their security measures out from her backpack.

“Something special!” Weiss replied as Jaune put down his backpack, she and him started pulling out cookware and ingredients. “We’ve got _tuna!”_ she sang, pulling out and shaking a jar full of it.

Blake’s face, ears, and tail perked up considerably, and she continued the rest of her work in a particularly good mood. It ended as soon as she came back and saw an all-too-familiar face, resting on top of some unwrapped cloth.

:D

<You brought the cheese...> Blake said flatly, her face, ears, and tail falling almost completely flat now.

Weiss blushed. <He wanted to come… tuna?> she asked, smiling as she held up the now open jar.

Blake sighed, sat down, and took it, pointedly ignoring Cheese as she ate.


	36. Chapter 36

Blue.

The walls, the floors, the ceiling. The mineral veins, the fungi, the water. The reptiles, the fish, and _especially_ the insects. Almost everything inside the cave was coloured, or had an extremely prominent party of it in dozens of different shades and intensities of blue, oftentimes glowing so brightly that they were unquestionably supercharged with magic.

“Do you think we’re going to find what we need in here?” Jaune asked as they carefully made their way down a tunnel, fully armoured and their and lights on. “I mean, everything’s so _blue_...”

“We will.” Penny replied.

“How, exactly?” Jaune asked. “Ah, just as future reference for me, not questioning your skills or anything...”

“Adara’s Mane has a very specific magical signature, and radiates at a very high frequency to boot,” Penny replied. “Even if it’s surrounded by species of similar appearance, both Weiss and myself will be able to accurately identify it.”

“If all this ambient magic doesn’t get in the way, at any rate...” Weiss mumbled. “Gah, it’s so _thick_ , it’s like walking in fog in here...”

Jaune nodded slowly. “So, uh, does anyone else feel it, or is it just me…?”

“Jus’ dem.” Blake said.

“Indeed.” Penny hummed. “Fret not, Jaune: it’s a matter of genetics, biology, and magitech, than any sort of fault or lack of skill on your part.”

“Oh, okay.” Jaune said, nodding again.

Eventually, they managed to come upon a series of pools, the water crystal clear, dozens of different lights dancing on the surface from all the magically charged animals, plants, and minerals thriving beneath. Jaune set up a reel and tied a lifeline around Weiss’ waist; Penny readied her sonar and animal repelling modules; and Blake did a quick scan of the area, tossing some deterrents into the water as she was at it.

Weiss got the all clear, attached a rebreather over her mask, then dove into the water.

_Splash._

She had been warned of almost all of the unique dangers magically-saturated areas had for weavers like herself. They were particularly keen on telling her that her time in the Weaver’s Terrace, in the Water Primal’s Sanctuary, and even inside the Bastion’s wellspring weren’t even _close_ to comparing to the sheer amounts of ambient magic she could experience out in the wilds. However, Weiss assumed that her years of training and experience with shutting out distractions, focusing, and self-control would be enough to handle it, for now.

She was wrong.

She had no way to accurately describe what she experienced the moment she broke through the surface, all the sensations going _far_ beyond the basic five, into the realm of magic she’d only recently become aware of. The closest she could get was that it was like plunging into an ocean filled with dozens if not hundreds of glowing, multi-coloured currents at once, some calmly flowing along; others pulsing and spreading out in waves; others still dancing, shifting, and exploding, all with their own sounds, sensations, tastes, presence, feel, and smells, even. It was complete and utter chaos at first glance, but the longer and closer you observed, you’d find there was some invisible controlling force, an unseen order to it all, a set of unwritten rules they all abided by.

It was beautiful.

It was terrifying.

 _It was_ _too much._

And all of a sudden, it was gone, a green pulse silencing and erasing it completely, or rendering it so faint and muddled it was easy to ignore. “Please focus, Weiss.” Penny said, before she cast a beam of magic across the water, and at one spot in particular.

Weiss looked, and found a patch of seaweed, lush and bushy; it looked completely unremarkable for non-weavers, but Weiss could sense the sheer amount of mana flowing into it, and radiating out from it, like so many tendrils dancing in the wind. The rest of the ambient magic began to come back into focus as she swam to it, but this time Weiss could ignore them, determined to get to the Adara’s Mane.

“Would you like me to remind you how to properly harvest this plant, Weiss?” Penny asked.

“I think I’ve got this from here on out, thank you,” Weiss replied as she unsheathed her knife, then grabbed a fistful of the leaves.

“As you wish.” Penny replied, before she left Weiss to her work.

They spent the next few hours developing and perfecting a routine: Weiss and Penny would search for Adara’s Mane; Jaune would reel them back in when the net was full, or Weiss was starting to become overwhelmed from the magic exposure; while Blake guarded them, and the increasingly full cooler of seaweed.

Save for a few close calls with some large creatures unaffected by Penny or Blake’s repellents, and _something_ evidently eating the plant as it staple food from all the unusable stubs they found, everything went well. Soon, they were sitting around their stove once more, having a snack, warming up, and recharging before they set off for home.

“It is _so_ refreshing to finally have a plan that goes _exactly_ the way I thought it would...” Weiss muttered as she sat down with a cup of hot tea in her hands, wearing a spare shirt as her coat and mask dried off.

“Yeah, it’s awesome!” Jaune said as he sat down beside his bag, repacking items with one hand and nibbling on a Cheese wedge with the other. “Even when I was with the AFA, we almost never had any operations this smooth! … Though, I guess I was never really in the very _good_ squads to begin with...”

“Doun’ relax too much-h,” Blake hummed as she sat in a cross-legged position, her eyes closed. “S’not over till weer back in th’ Bastyun,” she said, before she sipped her tea.

“I’m well aware of that.” Weiss replied. “But, I am also trying to enjoy this peace for however long it lasts.”

That ended up being about fifteen minutes, after they finished off the tea, Jaune was almost done reorganizing his bag, and Weiss excused herself to a secluded, quiet area to attend to some “personal business.” She’d barely ripped open the seal on her personal sanitation kit when disaster finally struck.

_CRASH!_

“AAAGH!”

Weiss jumped, stuffing the kit back into her pack as she dashed back to camp. More yelling and ruckus started echoing throughout the cave, objects crashing and clattering across the ground, then a dull, heavy _THUD_ _._ She rounded a corner, and came face-to-face with the cause:

A _gigantic_ slime, just a few inches shorter than her, several times as wide and bulky, and with almost all of their belongings suspended inside its body.

It slammed into Weiss, knocking her flat on her back as it  ran. Weiss  winced, rolled over and turned to look at it ; she gritted her teeth as she noticed  the cooler of Adara’s Mane among  the  stolen  goods , her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in horror as she realized  _Cheese_ was, too.

D8

“CHEESE!” she screamed, scrabbling back up to her feet, nearly slipping on the damp cave floor, fingernails scraping off the moss and lichen as she grabbed hold of the wall. _“CHEESE…!”_

<WEISS, NO! STOP!> Blake cried.

Weiss whipped her head around, saw Jaune sprawled out on the ground,  Blake pressing bloody gauze to the back of his head , Penny’ s eyes  flashing frantically as her tail charged with  magic. She looked  at the tunnel the slime had ran down , back at Jaune, before she rushed back  to join them,  grabbing fresh gauze and pressing it down on Jaune’s wound.

Ten minutes later, they sat around the ruins of their camp, sweating, panting, and letting their heart rates go back to normal. They were silent for a while, until Weiss asked,  “What the  _hell_ happened?”

“We were attacked by a slime.” Penny replied. “I was still on standby mode when it struck, so I’m afraid I don’t have footage or the exact details of how it did so, though I _am_ quite certain it has been tracking us for quite a while.”

“And it was just waiting for me to leave…?” Weiss asked.

“Without a doubt!” Penny said. “Slimes of this size and power levels tend to only be vulnerable to magical attacks.”

“Yeah, it felt like punching a giant blob of concrete jello that hits back like a sledgehammer.” Jaune muttered, a bandaged now wrapped around his head. “I’m really sorry, Weiss; I couldn’t stop it from stealing our stuff, and kept us from going after it by getting injured, too...”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, Jaune,” Weiss said, before she turned back to Penny. “So what do we do now?”

“We have two options.” Penny replied. “One: cut our losses, abandon Cheese, return home, and hope that our insurance covers the cost of replacing all, or most of our stolen equipment and supplies. Or Two: we begin tracking the slime, hopefully recovering most if not all of our equipment, and Cheese, too.”

Weiss nodded.  “ How much time does he have?”

“A few days to a week, at best, before the slime’s digestive system causes irreparable damage to his soul stone.” Penny said. “Realistically, however? A rescue only has a window of a few hours. Without a proper tracking device, it will be _extremely_ difficult to outright impossible to return at a later date and find Cheese, and this isn’t even including the costs and work involved in recruiting a suitable hunting party.

“In short: it’s now, or never.”

Weiss nodded, before she looked down, a solemn look on her face.

“Weiss, I _really_ must beg of you to think long and hard about your next course of action.” Penny said. “As an artificial being myself, I _do_ wish to see Cheese rescued and returned home safely! However, he is _still_ just an elemental, and your life and safety is far, _f_ _a_ _r_ more valuable than his.

“ _Please:_ don’t do anything rash.”

Weiss sighed. “I know. I won’t. I promise,” she said, before she fell silent.

Blake watched her for a while, saw her growing increasingly dejected and depressed, before she asked, <You _really_ want to save him, don’t you...? >

Weiss looked up, and muttered, <Yes. Is that stupid? He’s just _cheese._ _>_

 _< Yes,_ but, everyone needs to care about something, and yours just happens to include>\--Blake’s ears lowered for a moment--<him, too. I can help you get him back—BUT, you will owe me, big time.>

Weiss blinked, stared at Blake, before she smiled, and said, _< Thank you.>_

<Thank me _if_ we get him back.> Blake said coolly. <I’m making no guarantees.>

“Uh, hey? Sorry for butting in, but, ah are we staging a rescue mission for Cheese?” Jaune asked.

“We are.” Weiss replied. “You don’t need to join in; this is already going _way_ above and beyond your original duties.”

“I _want_ to, actually.” Jaune said. “Unless I’m not good to go...?” he asked, turning to Penny.

“If you’re willing to tolerate the risk of more serious injuries?” Penny replied. “Then _yes_ , yes you may join in the search.”

“Then I’m going.” Jaune said, picking up his helmet, and dusting it off.

“So it’s settled then: we’re all going to rescue Cheese?” Weiss asked.

Everyone nodded or answered “Yes.”

Weiss smiled and stood up. “Prepare yourselves, then: I’m not going home without Cheese so long as we can help it.”

“So we’re going now?” Jaune asked as he carefully put his helmet back on.

“In fifteen minutes, give or take,” Weiss replied.

“But that’s giving the slime even more time to get away from us.” Jaune replied.

“I know that, but I still have that ‘personal business’ to attend to...” Weiss said, blushing as she nudged her head towards one of the tunnels leading out.

Jaune blinked, before he nodded quickly. “Oh, right! Sorry...”


	37. Chapter 37

Searching for the slime was a long, grueling, exhausting endeavour.

With no tracking device and most of their equipment stolen beside, they could only follow the trail of items it had spat out. Most of it were mundane tools and emptied containers, the only damage being the thick layer of goop that now covered them. The rest were spare batteries, extra mediums, and enchanted gear that had been completely drained dry of every single drop of mana they had, some of them digested and damaged so badly Weiss doubted she could still use them.

The map and wildlife survey data from previous expeditions helped with ruling out areas even a slime of that size would avoid, but in the end, they had to search every nook and cranny themselves, putting Blake’s tracking skills and Penny’s scanners to the test.

Eventually though, they found it hiding inside a hole in a wall.

As the one with the sharpest senses and natural night-vision beside, Blake investigated. She found the slime laying dormant inside, compacted into a tight ball, its natural sheen muted so as to better blend in with its surroundings and the darkness. She could have missed it entirely, if it weren’t for the glowing mass of ice blue magic inside it.

Blake frowned as she saw what had happened to Cheese; the edible parts of him had been turned into an unappetizing, amorphous blob of goo, slowly melting away into mana particles. His face was heavily distorted, but you could still read his expression:

;_;

Blake scanned the rest of the nook as best as she could, Cheese noticed the glow of her eyes.

:o

A small wave of magic pulsed from his soul stone.

:D

The slime burbled and expanded, alarmed.

o_o

Blake noticed, and ducked out of sight, Cheese’s face disappeared as well. Several tense seconds later, the slime hissed as it released excess air, compacting itself again. Blake risked peering back into the hole, looked directly at Cheese, and mouthed, <We’re going to save you.>

Cheese’s face flashed for a brief moment--

'-'7

\--Then, his face disappeared and he went “silent” once more.

Blake carefully made her way back to the others, and gave a thumbs up.

Weiss sighed in relief, before her face turned serious once more. “We need a plan...” she muttered. “A _very_ good one.”

Blake nodded, the four of them huddled together, and started brainstorming. It took them nearly an hour to plan, prepare, and ensure that the absolute minimum could possibly interfere; they scouted out the area once more, exterminated potential threats, and meticulously planned and debated how to distribute and stretch what little magic and mediums they had left.

There was no time to rehearse the plan; there was only going to be the one shot, and they had best get it right.

“Nervous?” Weiss asked as she had her hands on Jaune’s sword and shield, infusing them both with earth magic.

“Yeah,” Jaune replied, nodding.

“You can do this, Jaune.”

“No, I **have** to do this.” Jaune said flatly, his expression unreadable for his helmet.

Weiss stared at him for a moment, before she finished the enchanting. With the last component of their plan in place, all that was left to do was set it in motion, and pray it worked...

* * *

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

“Hey, turd-ball!” Jaune yelled.

The slime stirred, Cheese did his best to hide his excitement as it peered out of the hole.

“Yeah, you!” Jaune continued, pointing his sword at it. “I want a rematch—right here, right now!”

The slime immediately oozed out of the hole, bouncing and burbling threateningly.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Jaune replied, getting into a combat stance. “Just you an—!” he stopped, his eyes widened as he raised his shield.

_Clang!_

The slime smashed into Jaune at terrifying speed, nearly knocking him off his feet. A wave exploded out from his shield, and threw the slime back. It barely seemed affected as it prepared to attack again.

The two of them clashed for a few minutes, Jaune’s sword slicing into its gelatinous body and severing the bonds that kept it together, the slime hurling itself at him, forming limbs to punch and smash, or swallowing up Jaune’s arms and legs, immobilizing him, or trying to rip them off entirely.

Things quickly began to turn south for Jaune, he pulled out one of his stun grenades.

_Poomf._

The slime reeled and burbled violently as its senses were overloaded, Jaune retreated to a tunnel with an arrow carved in its side, and banged his sword on his shield once more. “Hey! Hey! _Heeeyyy…!”_ he yelled, in-between whistling and dancing, making a loud, obnoxious nuisance of himself.

The slime recovered, angrily bouncing after Jaune the moment it sensed where he was. Jaune yelped, and sprinted away.

Elsewhere, in a small, isolated cavern, Blake and Penny monitored their maps, watching the blip representing the slime going straight after Jaune; it barely deviated at all from his path, straying only to take shortcuts and routes that he either couldn’t use, or didn’t notice.

<Damn, he has _really_ pissed that slime off...> Blake muttered.

<Indeed.> Penny hummed.

Nearby and unseen from the outside, Weiss stood in a pool of water, siphoning it up and cooling it to near freezing temperatures with her runeblade. Blake and Penny warned her Jaune was getting close, she slowly, carefully raised her sword up into the air, the metal and her hands glowing a radiant ice blue.

Jaune raced into the cavern, falling flat on his face as soon as he was in.

The slime launched itself at him, exploding outwards as it prepared to swallow him up!

Blake and Penny lifted up her breakneck’s cable, activated its air enchantment and electrified it.

_Zzztttt…!_

The slime hit it, it landed splattered all over the floor, sizzling, bubbling, sparking as its bonds were violently broken or disrupted. It tried to pull itself back together, Weiss fired her frost-beam at it!

_Fwooom…!_

The slime and its severed pieces started to writhe and panic as they began to freeze over, some of them even beginning to crack and shatter from the stress. Weiss kept on firing, her arms shaking violently as steadied her aim, kept it trained on the slime until the beam ran out of power.

<NOW!> Weiss cried, before she dropped to her knees.

Blake readied her breakneck, her pupils turning to slits before she dashed forward and disappeared from sight. Several flashes of light and sparks erupted from the slime before Blake reappeared behind it, letting out a slow, measured breath as her eyes returned to normal.

The slime started to slowly come apart in pieces, neat slices and jagged chips both. Re-energized and back on his feet, Jaune yelled as he charged towards it, brought the pommel of his sword down on it as hard as he could!

_Crash!_

The slime exploded, frozen hunks of it flying everywhere, ice shards and mana particles scattering all around as it broke on the floor, the walls, and rocks. The larger pieces began to thaw out and try to escape, Blake, Jaune, and Penny hunted them down, stabbing, electrocuting, and stomping on them till they stopped moving.

Far off in the corner, the piece that had Cheese inside it desperately wriggled and oozed towards a hole in the wall…

_Shink._

Weiss stabbed it with her runeblade, forced its fluids out of its body till it shriveled up and died. “Not happening,” she growled, before she picked up Cheese, stuffed him into one of her coat’s secure inner pockets, then hunted down the rest of the stragglers.

When they were sure that the every last part of the slime was dead or utterly destroyed, Weiss carefully pulled Cheese out of her pocket. “Cheese...?” she whispered. “You alright?”

Q~Q

“Shh, shh, it’s okay now, Cheese...” Weiss said, smiling as she held him to her chest. “You’re safe now, and I swear, nothing is going to kidnap you again, so long as I can help it.”

She felt a warm pulse of magic spread out in her hand, Weiss enjoyed it for a few moments, before put Cheese back into her coat. “Everyone alright?” she asked as she turned to the others.

<I’m good,> Blake said as she sheathed her breakneck.

“I’m alright!” Jaune said. “Strangely, _weirdly_ alright, actually; was that fight a lot easier than I thought it was? Because I’m not as tired or hurting as I think I should be.”

“It’s probably just the effects of all the echoes you’ve just absorbed from the slime,” Penny said. “Receiving large amounts, or reaching certain total thresholds has been known to have rejuvenating effects, even with extreme trauma.”

“Oh. Neat!” Jaune said. “So, uh, what now...?”

Weiss groaned. “We are going _home,_ ASAP, and calling for a ride back to the Bastion as soon as we can get a strong enough signal.”

“Are you sure about that, Weiss?” Penny asked. “We haven’t even begun collecting the slime’s remains.”

“Should we really bother?” Weiss asked, gesturing out to the inert gobs laying about. “None of us held back earlier.”

“I can still detect certain elements that survived the assault, and could prove very useful beside!” Penny replied. “I seriously doubt we’ll be able to salvage any of the Adara’s Mane, nor extract the active ingredients Nami desires from it, but maybe this _may_ be a suitable alternative.”

“We’ve still got the cooler!” Jaune said, pulling the partially-digested box out of his pack. The handle snapped off in his hand, a section of it cracked on hitting the ground. “… Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ve got a spare bag here that will do just fine, hang on...” he muttered as he picked it up, and stuffed it in with the rest of the trash.

Weiss shrugged. “Alright, let’s mop up, and _then_ go home...” she said, before she started scooping up slime gobs.

* * *

“… And as of the moment, it’s in a jar and my freezer,” Weiss said, before she took a sip from her glass of iced tea. “I just really hope that when Nami comes over, we find it’s worth _something_ ; I’d hate for all of this to have just been a gigantic waste of time.”

“Weiss, you got to go adventuring outside the walls, pull off a daring rescue, _and_ kill your very first monster!” Yang said as she picked up another meat skewer from the tray in the center. “I’d say this story alone is worth it, especially since you’ve got evidence thanks to Penny!”

“If I could sell the rights to it for _money_ , then yes, it _would_ have been worth it!” Weiss snapped as she stabbed her casserole a _lot_ harder than necessary. She took in a deep breath, and sighed. “I’m sorry, but I just _really_ need these expeditions to go right as much as possible.”

“No harm, no foul,” Yang said, before she bit off a chunk of meat. “You know, you _could_ take me along with you one of these days; I’ll admit I’m not as experienced as the others, but Valentino was its own jungle.”

“I’ll keep it in mind, should I need someone of your particular set of skills,” Weiss said, before she yawned. She grumbled as she put her fork down, and pushed her plate away. “Does anyone happen to mind if I skip to dessert? It’s been a long day and I _really_ want something sugary before I go to bed.”

No one objected, but Taiyang added, “You may want to just have some cookies, than what I whipped up, though.”

Weiss’ eyebrow rose at that. “Is there anything about this particular dessert you need to tell me?”

“Yeah: it’s jello.” Taiyang replied. He raised his hands, and continued, “Full disclosure: I have been planning that since earlier this week, it is _totally_ not because of what happened to you earlier today.”

Weiss shut her eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and let it go slowly. “I figured as much… what flavour, exactly?”

“Blueberry.”

“Wonderful, I _love_ blueberry!” Weiss said, smiling. “May I trouble you for a bowl, please?”

Taiyang smirked, then shrugged. “On it!” he as he stood up from his seat.

The jello wasn’t _quite_ the same vibrant shade of blue as the slime was, but still, Weiss enjoyed stabbing it with her spoon, and taking her sweet time chewing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how one of the common criticisms of canon Jaune is that he’s whiny and annoying? I decided to make that a positive for him, in this fic. What do you guys think of it?


	38. Chapter 38

A few days later, Weiss, Nami, and Cheska were all in her laboratory together, putting samples of the slime through every test they could. It felt like chemistry class at Arcturus all over again, on the days when Weiss was playing assistant to the modded and/or highly advanced students, fetching reagents and reactants, changing settings on the machines, and patiently, quietly waiting on the sides as they got to the delicate, often _dangerous_ work she was totally unqualified for.

She recognized a great deal of the same techniques she had studied, illustrated, and reported on at school, though a number of instruments and steps had been modified or cut-out entirely, using their magic instead. For example, Nami could handle volatile chemicals with her bare claws, transferring, mixing, and modifying solutions, all without spilling a drop, burning anyone’s eyes or skin, or damaging the equipment.

They spent the entire morning hard at work, stopping only for bathroom breaks, and to refuel with sugary snacks—or in Nami’s case, almost 18 liters worth of Fireki’s Fizzy Fun “Bayou Bonanza” sipped straight from the keg.

Finally, just a little before noon, they managed to compile a final report.

Unfortunately for Weiss, she couldn’t understand what most of it would mean to advanced alchemists nor magitechnicians, so all she could was clean up and wait for Nami and Cheska to finish reading and discussing it with each other.

<Well?> she asked after she was called back to the table. <What does it look like?>

Cheska shot her an apologetic look, before she pulled up a holo, reading: “It’s useless to both of us.”

<Yep, basically slag!> Nami said cheerfully, before she grabbed the hose and sipped some more Fireki’s.

Weiss blinked, before her face fell. “So what _can_ I do with this…?”

“If you ever find an interest in creating elementals _much_ more advanced than Cheese, you can definitely use it as a base material.” Cheska replied. “You could remake into a new, tame slime, or any number of variants,” she continued as she brought up examples.

<Oooh, tentacle monsters!> Nami cried, soda spilling out of her mouth. She pulled the hose out, wiped her lips with the back of her claw, and continued, <I love tentacle monsters!>

Weiss frowned.

<They’re so useful and versatile!> Nami continued. <Organizing your stock room, moving equipment around, several extra pairs of limbs for almost everything you can think of—ah, I just love it whenever I can have it as part of my crew!>

Weiss relaxed.

<Not to mention all the _other_ things I can have it do, afterward...> Nami said, giggling.

<Ah.> Weiss said, frowning, again. <Aren’t you supposed to be _ten? >_

<Yes!> Nami replied. <And _clearly,_ you haven’t been sailing same waters I have.>

<What…?> Weiss asked.

“She means ‘You don’t know what it was like where I grew up.’” Cheska typed.

“Thank you.” Weiss said. To Nami, she asked, <Can you lower the slang-use?>

<No.> Nami said, shaking her head. <I let no hands on the wheel but my own, Raindrop.>

“She means ‘I do what I want.’” Cheska wrote. “It’s just one of those quirks you have to get used to.”

Weiss sighed. “Figured as much.” She threw up her hands and said, “Well, you’re all free to leave, unless you want to stay for lunch! It’ll be a squeeze at the table, but I’m sure Taiyang will be happy to make extra for you two.”

“We appreciate the offer, but we promised Bee we’d hang out with her for the rest of the day, after we’re finished here.” Cheska replied. “Speaking of which: do you want to join us?”

“No thank you, I can think of _far_ too many things I can use all this new free time on...” Weiss muttered, shaking her head.

Cheska nodded, and relayed it to Nami; Nami immediately frowned, raised her claw, and said, <Hold up, Raindrop: don’t tell me you’re setting out to sea again, just as you got back to port!>

“She’s upset you’re already taking on _more_ work just after you finished this.”

“I _really_ don’t have a choice in the matter,” Weiss said. “This debt has the potential to drown my sister and I for _years_ , possibly even the rest of our lives.”

<And if you overwork yourself into the hospital for the nth time, you’ll drown even faster.> Nami said replied, after Cheska translated. <When was the last time you stopped and just had some _fun,_ Weiss? All you ever seem to do nowadays is just work, train, and study, nothing else.>

Cheska translated and added, “Before you ask: Penny and Bee talk frequently about what you’re up to. It’s part of both of their duties as your mender, and Primal Aeilana’s representative while she’s out.”

Weiss nodded, and said, “I assure you, I am _quite_ used to being constantly overloaded with duties both mandatory and voluntary, and did _very_ well, if you’ll have a look at my life pre-Valley. _However:_ I’ve mediated enough disagreements and negotiations to know that you’re _clearly_ not going to leave me alone until I join you two, so how about a compromise?:

“I’ll join, _but_ , we do something that is both recreational _and_ productive—if not something I can use to immediately boost my income, then at least something that improves my magic and skills, or open up better opportunities in the future.”

After a few moments for translating, Nami beamed, grinned, and said, <Lucky you, Raindrop: I have the _perfect_ idea for _all_ of us!>

* * *

Later that afternoon, with a basket of packed lunches and her runeblade on her belt, Weiss set off for Keeper’s Port.

Long ago, it was a busy, thriving outpost for the Watchers, making sure the transportation of supplies and the Keeper team were (mostly) smooth and problem-free; ensuring that no unnecessary danger would come to the Grove and its inhabitants; and that dangers coming _from_ the Grove and its inhabitants would not spread to the rest of the Bastion, or at the worst, give them ample time to prepare.

A community inevitably rose around it, made up of traders interested in servicing the watchers, or otherwise making a profit off the Keeper and her companions’ exploits; individuals that wanted to be close—but not _that_ close—to the Keeper, for their own reasons; and folks that couldn’t or wouldn’t settle anywhere else.

And just as inevitably, Abner’s inventing, perfecting, then expanding the Tubes killed it.

The buildings and the old docks still stood, but they were overgrown, worn, and alternately abandoned, or had folks squatting in it. The only business around were traveling traders, sometimes dealing in less than legal goods, and the folks there were a mix of the homeless, nomadic wanderers, and those that preferred their haunts remote, quiet, and thriving with wildlife.

There were no watchers around, or at least, ones actively on duty and making it known to everyone. Save for some teenage gangbangers beating the crap out of each other in what remained of a training ground, and their cheering and jeering allies on the sides, things seemed peaceful, and nothing Weiss saw or heard made her particularly concerned. A line from her grandfather’s journals echoed in her head:

“Places like this tend to have a way of policing themselves.”

She met up with Bee and the others on the docks, now a fishing hotspot. As she passed by a trader selling live or frozen catfish; then a server offering to fillet or prepare it for whole frying; and finally a maker offering cooked in a handful of ways (plus drinks and sides), it became pretty obvious what the swampy water’s main bounty was.

“Hey Weiss!” Bee said, waving before she jogged up to her. “Come on, we’ve been waiting for you before we start! Want me to to take your basket?”

“Please.” Weiss said as she handed it over. “So, why exactly do I need to be _armed_ to go fishing with you guys?” she asked as they joined Nami and Cheska on the edge.

Bee snorted.

“What’s so funny?” Weiss asked, frowning.

“I just thought you’d have figured it out already.” Bee said. “Here, let me just show you. Nami!”

Nami reached into the tackle box next to her, tossed some bait into the water, before throwing Bee a lure. Weiss watched as Bee attached it to one end of her staff by a water tendril, and internally facepalmed. “Ah,” she said, “I suppose I _really_ should have realized that.”

“It’s a common newbie mistake, only thinking of your focus as a tool for combat and little else,” Bee said. “Have you ever done this before? Do you need me to teach you how it’s done?”

“I think I can figure it out on my own, thank you,” Weiss said. “Nami?”

Nami tossed her another lure—a rather powerfully scented creation that looked vaguely like an insect, made entirely out of organic materials, up to the hooks themselves. Weiss pulled out her runeblade, and attached it to the point, before she and Bee stood a few feet away from each other.

“Ready?” Bee asked.

“Yes.” Weiss said, nodding.

<Let’s go…~!> Bee yelled gleefully, whirling her lure around in the air before she let it fly, into the feeding ground they’ve made.

“Was that _really_ necessary...?” Weiss asked.

“No, but it _is_ fun.” Bee hummed. “Don’t feel pressured, by the way.”

“I really won’t,” Weiss said, before she cast her lure out with much less flair.

As Weiss and Bee had to keep at least one hand on their foci, Cheska opened up and passed around the contents of the basket. There was a bit of animated conversation as they decided who wanted what, then compliments to Weiss and Taiyang for the quality of the produce and food, before was all was peaceful in their corner.

Then, Bee’s ears pricked, her tail flicked slightly.

In an instant, she grabbed her staff with both hands, yanked it as hard as she could to one side as her tendril started to glow and pulse with renewed power. Cheska quickly shot up to her feet, unholstering her cannon and charging it with magic. Nami snapped out of her daydreaming, giggling as she watched the impending action.

<Here we go, here we go…!> she squealed.

The fight was brief but intense, Bee wrestling with the fish, Cheska firing blasts to help weaken it, Nami cheering as the fish slowly got closer and closer to the dock until--

_Splash!_

A six-foot catfish came flying out of the water and onto the dock, landing with a solid _thud._ Weiss jumped as it started flopping about, until Bee whacked it with her staff and killed it. Cheska froze it solid, they wrapped it up in an insulated cloth, before Bee got a new lure and cast again.

<You need a new one too, Raindrop?> Nami asked.

“Huh?” Weiss asked, before she yelped, and pulled her tendril out from the water; to her dismay, her lure was gone.

<We got plenty below deck, don’t worry!> Nami hummed, tossing her a replacement.

Weiss sighed as she caught it, her expression growing serious as she cast it out.

Over the next hour, Bee managed to catch a few more catfish, while Weiss lost more lures and fish both. Bee and the others offered more hands-on help, Weiss politely declined, until she had to concede that she _really_ needed it.

“We’re all here to help you, Weiss, don’t be ashamed to ask for it.” Bee said.

There were several more failed attempts, but Weiss was quickly learning and honing all the essentials—the difference between a catfish just nibbling on or completely swallowing up her lure; what directions the fish was swimming in and how hard; how much tension and energy she should use to keep the fish from escaping or ruining her lure. She still didn’t catch anything, but everyone could tell she was getting close— _very_ close.

Then, as the sun was already beginning to set, a catfish arrived to put all her newfound skills to the test.

Weiss felt it swallow her lure whole immediately, didn’t think much of it as she let it swim for a few seconds before hooking it. Then, the fish violently yanked her forward, almost making her stumble before she caught herself.

<Woah, got a big’un, there, Raindrop?> Nami asked playfully.

The catfish started _really_ fighting, nearly pulling Weiss off her feet and into the water, if Bee hadn’t caught her by the waist and pulled her back. <Nami!> she yelled.

<On it!> Nami cried, pulling out a stun grenade and hurling it into the water.

_Plop. Poomf._

A bright flash erupted under the surface, the fish stopped for a few moments. Cheska got up on her feet and charged her cannon anew, Bee and Weiss put both their hands on the hilt and combined their powers, Nami watched the water as she pulled out a new stun grenade.

The catfish recovered with a vengeance, slowly dragging Bee and Weiss along the dock until the channeled some magic into their legs, carefully stepped back together as they reeled it in. The fight dragged on for nearly half-an-hour, brief moments of relief as Nami stunned it, or Cheska managed to get a good shot at.

Onlookers started to gather around, from the noise or the brief flashes of the fish launching out of the water: a massive 17-20 foot giant, looking none-too-pleased about the lure stuck in its mouth. They started to cheer and howl as the fish got closer and closer, its thrashing spraying water all over the docks and the folks standing there. When it was just a few feet away, Bee and Weiss yelled as they made one last, final pull!

 _W_ _h_ _oosh!_

Water exploded around the fish as it flew out of the water, the audience cheered, Bee and Weiss both smiled… until they realized it was coming straight for them.

_Smack!_

It landed on them, knocking them flat on the floor and stunning them, smacking them and everyone around as it continued to violently thrash and jump about. Nami, Cheska, and a handful of the onlookers tried to help them _and_ keep the fish from escaping, but it smacked away or even knocked out all of them.

_Splash._

Weiss, her classmates, and the audience all watched as the monster fish dove back into the water, and disappeared. There was a moment of stunned silence, before Weiss started laughing. Soon, everyone joined in, congratulations and pats on the back being passed around, before the crowds went back to their own business.

Weiss left the port with a handful of average sized catfish, a bag of new shinies, and a promise to the others that they’d _definitely_ do this again sometime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Yes, the slime does eventually become the base material for Weiss’ Kraken, should you happen to remember it from _that_ spinoff.
> 
> “Fireki” is a very common female name, especially in Celestion. In this world, similarly prolific names include “Jane,” “Jesus,” “Ai,” and “Li.”


	39. Chapter 39

Qrow was delighted to find out that Weiss had gone fishing for catfish, and was all too happy to teach her how to clean and prepare it. “I love catfish!” he said as they were laid out in the sink for inspection. “One of the best all-around eats in or outside of the walls, no question.”

Weiss soon theorized that a large part of it was that cooking catfish gave him the perfect excuse to break out _extremely_ large amounts of beer. “Do you _really_ need this much alcohol?” she asked as she mixed a giant tub of batter.

“Absolutely,” Qrow replied as he stood on the other side pouring it in, before taking a swig from the can. His eyes widened before he said, “Woops! Not nearly enough alcohol yet.” then cracked open a new can.

Weiss shot him a look.

“What?” Qrow said as he put aside the beer he’d already drank from. “You don’t want me to contaminate this whole batch, do you? Some of us could get _sick_ from that!”

Weiss just rolled her eyes, and continued mixing. Soon, the oil was raging hot; the massive fillets had been sliced into more reasonable sizes; and she and Qrow had assembled a line of batter, breadcrumbs, and a _whole_ lot of paper towels on the sides of the pot.

“You ready for this?” Qrow asked. “No need to go the bathroom? No itches that need scratching? No questions or clarifications? I need you 100% for this, we can’t screw any part of this up!”

“Just one: why are you being so intense about this?” Weiss asked. “We’re making _fried catfish,_ for Piper’s sake!”

“ _O_ _bviously_ you’ve never had the displeasure of a shitty fillet after a whole lot of perfectly done ones.” Qrow replied. “Anything else?”

“Nothing, let’s do this.” Weiss said, preparing her hands.

“On three...” Qrow said as he began to reach for the fillets. “One… two--”

An obnoxiously loud noise rang out, making Weiss flinch and Qrow frown. “The fuck was that?!” he asked.

“My top-priority ringtone, sorry!” Weiss replied.

“Well then check and see what’s up!” Qrow said. “I don’t want it to even be on the back of your mind.”

Weiss groaned as she waved her hand and summoned a holo by her face. “Honestly, Qrow, you’re being so overdramatic about thi--”

Qrow winced as Weiss suddenly screamed in delight. “Ruby...?” he asked flatly.

“Yes--!” Weiss replied, expression teetering between looking sheepish, and overjoyed.

“Go.” Qrow said flatly, gesturing for her to leave.

Weiss hesitated for a moment, before she ran out of the kitchen, to the arch connecting it to the living room. She perched herself on the wall, took deep, calming breaths, before she read Ruby’s message: _“Hey Weiss, are you free? I_ really _need to talk to you, but somewhere private, where no one else can hear us, Yang or Dad especially. It’s_ super-duper _important that you do, and I can explain why later.”_

Weiss blushed, flashes of what had went down the last time she and Ruby were together; she dismissed the holo, composed herself and willed the heat out of her cheeks, before she took a look around the house.

The living room was incredibly noisy and crowded, Nora having convinced most everyone else to have a holo marathon, after most of their days off or shift schedules had coincidentally aligned. She looked back at the kitchen, and found Qrow busy battering and frying the catfish fillets, moving with speed, efficiency, and precise timing that reminded her of the best food service bots in Candela. She briefly considered hogging the bathroom a while, but Nora yelling “Ad break!” before making a mad dash to it quashed that idea.

Weiss frowned, and looked around some more.

There was the option of heading outside, but the weather had gotten muggy since she got back. She thought of going to the barn, but the time and effort it’d take to get there then back for dinner put her off, too. She briefly considered using Blake and Penny’s room, but decided she and the former weren’t _that_ close just yet.

Then, she saw the answer: Ruby’s room.

Weiss headed into it as discretely and quickly as she could, making sure the door was locked behind her. Then, she turned around, and looked for someplace comfortable to sit down… but ended up spending a few minutes just taking in how it looked now.

Ruby’s room had gone completely unused since she left for the expeditions, the things she’d left behind almost entirely untouched. It was quiet, the sounds of the living room muffled enough through the wall, the closed windows shutting out the insects and birds outside, but it was the unpleasant sort of silence, the one where you _definitely_ noticed that something—or rather someone—was missing.

Weiss decided to ignore it and sat down on the small cushion by Ruby’s terminal. She checked herself for any stray threads of hair, beads of sweat, or smears and specks of raw ingredients, addressing them post-haste. She mentally prepared herself, thinking through a choice handful of reasons why Ruby would want so much privacy (pleasant or far from it), and how Weiss would react to them.

Then, she finally called her.

Ruby answered almost immediately, looking flustered and sweating. Weiss frowned, and asked, “I’m sorry, did I call at a bad time?”

“ _No,_ no-no, _not at all!”_ Ruby said hurriedly. _“I was just playing Titan_ _Slayer_ _7 again, and I forgot just how_ stupidly _hard the first few missions of_ _Code 8_ _are, offline and solo… anyway, I was just killing time with it—did you do like I asked, Weiss?”_

Weiss grabbed the holo, and slowly moved it around, showing off the completely empty room. “Door’s locked, everyone’s watching holos in the living room, or are otherwise completely occupied.”

Ruby sighed, her face relaxing considerably. _“Thanks a lot for that… I_ really _don’t want anyone else to know about this.”_

“And what is ‘this’ exactly…?” Weiss asked as she put the holo back in front of her.

Ruby opened her mouth, hesitated for a few moments, before she sighed again, her ears and face drooping considerably. _“_ _Are you okay right now, Weiss? Like, have you gotten enough sleep lately?_ _A_ _re you not hungry_ _or thirsty_ _?_ _A_ _re you comfortable and ready to deal with some potentially heavy shit? Penny’s given me a summary of what you’ve been up to since I left, and man, it is a_ lot!”

“Yes to all of those, and I know, but I’m used to it; among other important skills, Arcturus has honed my time management and ability to cope with constant work, mandatory or voluntary.” Weiss replied.

“ _Are you sure about that?”_ Ruby asked. _“No offense, but you’ve got a_ _lso got a_ _history of pushing yourself too hard, too often, Weiss.”_

“And I _will_ admit that, but again, I assure you I am ready, Ruby.” Weiss replied. “If I could, I would kiss you to prove my sincerity, but we both know that’s a bit difficult right now.”

Ruby snorted, a small smile spreading on her face. It quickly faded as she sucked in a deep breath, looked away for a moment, before she turned back to Weiss and said, _“I’m…_ really _not having an easy time out here in the expeditions…”_

“How so?” Weiss asked.

“ _Well, it’s not that the deployments are all that bad, they’re intense but over within an hour, it’s just—you remember what I said, that this is the very first time I’d ever be going out on a long-term deployment alone, without anyone else from the Grove?”_

“Yes.” Weiss said, nodding.

“ _I… didn’t realize just how_ hard _it would be without them….”_ Ruby muttered. _“I feel so_ alone _here, Weiss! I’m the_ only one _in this division_ _who’s younger than_ 40 _,_ _and it’s just been_ impossible _to try and_ _make_ _new friends while I’m here._

“ _I’ve re-read the guides, knowing it’d happen again, but this time_ nothing _works!_

“ _I try to listen in on conversations on the sides, find someplace where I can maybe squeeze myself in, but I can’t. All they talk about is their plans for retirement, either after this expedition, or more years in regular service; health issues that I don’t even_ remotely _want to know_ any _of the details about; or their kids, their nephews, their nieces, or even grandkids—and even then, they’re always either grown-up adults, or so young they’re still in diapers!_

“ _I try to find things in common, but now I realize that the_ only _thing we have in common is that we’re all Apex watchers, nothing else. I tried to bring up Rune Rangers the one time, and all anyone can ever tell me is that A) they don’t watch it, or haven’t watched it in years, B) their kids, nephews, and nieces do, but they aren’t that interested themselves, or C) that one watcher-chronicler here that’s actually writing a holo about them—a really, really long, boring,_ academic _holo full of so many things aside from Rune Rangers like politics, history, and sociology, that it all just turns my brain to soup a minute into the elevator pitch._

“ _And don’t even get me started on trying to find games or hobbies to do together—I_ really _don’t want to knit another sweater for pet hedgehogs!”_

Weiss blinked.  “… I’m sorry,  but  did you just say you  _knitted sweaters for pet hedgehogs…?”_

“Yes.” Ruby replied flatly. _“It’s a very big thing here and in the human territories, actually…”_

“… I… see. So sorry for breaking the flow of conversation, but I just needed to make sure I heard right.”

“ _Don’t worry, I did with him, too.”_ Ruby said, before she sighed. _“I’m really starting to worry, Weiss, because I’m_ _getting_ _anxious_ because _things_ _are_ _going_ _well_ _at_ _our_ _neck of the_ _Valley_ _.”_

“And why _would_ that make you anxious?” Weiss asked.

“ _Because it means I don’t have anything to do, nothing to distract me!”_ Ruby cried. _“I’m not part of the teams going out every single day, me and whoever’s coming with are strictly on reserve for the worst possible emergencies, and the most dangerous threats that absolutely need neutralizing,_ now _, which means a lot of downtime, waiting for_ something _to happen, but ultimately hoping it_ doesn’t.

“ _I swear I’m not going the kind of crazy where I go AWOL into the wilds, or just go_ berserk _, but I’m starting to understand why folks do, and that_ scares me so much, _Weiss...!”_

Weiss frowned. “Ruby, have you seen Pen—a mender about this? You have therapy menders there, right?”

“ _Lots_ _, though technically I share them with everyone else here. They’re the reason I’m calling_ _you_ _right now,_ _actually_ _…”_ Ruby muttered, before she took a deep breath, and released it. _“Weiss, I_ _a_ _m_ so sorry _for_ _putting you on the spot like this, but: how do you do it?_

“ _Most people would have gone_ crazy, _or just burnt-out completely if they went through the same crap you went through these past few months, but you? Not only have you survived all that, but you’ve also stayed sane, grown and improved leaps and bounds, and are_ still _signing up for more!_

“ _So how…? Why? What is your secret?”_

There was a long, uneasy silence, Weiss bowing her head as she thought, Ruby struggling to stay calm, her hands fingers nervously drumming and twitching. The minutes seemed to drag on and on, until finally, Weiss looked back up at Ruby, and said:

“I suppose a key factor was that my grandfather was completely, utterly _insane,_ and so am I.”

Ruby blinked, staring at Weiss like a deer in the headlights, before she  burst out laug hing .

Weiss smiled,  and waited  for Ruby to  calm  down. “ Aside from that, however…”  she continued, “I  _really_ didn’t want things to end the myriad ways they could hav e. 

“All my life, I’ve been in awe of what my grandfather could do and had done, a man who barely had anything to his name, who ended up effectively holding the entire realm in his hands. Someone who faced numerous misfortunes, setbacks, and opposition at nearly every turn, like the whole universe was making it a point to make everything as hard as possible, just because. Someone who did all that, while _still_ being one of the most principled and compassionate men the realm has ever known, who stubbornly _refused_ to let all those ridiculous amounts of literal and figurative power corrupt him.

“I’ve always thought, ‘How much more good could I do for the realm, what more could I achieve, with all the foundations, resources, and opportunities he’s already laid out for me?’ And then I thought, ‘What would it say about me, if I just used all that to live a comfortable, idle life for the rest of my days…?’

Weiss sighed. “Call it trying to live up to my family legacy, or just rich person guilt, but either way you want to put it, I will _never_ be content with having died _trying,_ or even worse, giving up before I have made my mark in this world, something that would remind the realm what the name ‘Schnee’ _used_ to mean. 

“I’m… still not _entirely_ sure what that will be, exactly, thanks to my original plans falling apart completely, and well, _this_ _”_ \--she raised her hand, and lit up her fingers for a few moments---”but I’m _determined_ to get the basics down, so I can finally start figuring out what it will be.”

“ _I see...”_ Ruby said, nodding. _“T_ _hank_ _you_ _,_ _Weiss,_ _”_ she said, smiling.

“You’re welcome, Ruby.” Weiss said. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“ _Just two things.”_ Ruby replied. _“_ _Unless I say so_ _, could you_ _not say a peep about this to Yang, or_ _D_ _ad, or, well, anyone except Penny…?_ _”_

“I certainly _could,_ but I would really rather like to know _why_ , first, Ruby.”

Ruby  nodded .  _“Yang probably hasn’t_ _told you about this_ _, but she…_ really  _didn’t react well when I told her I was joining the expeditions,_ _and_ _that_ _I was_ volunteering _, not being drafted_ _. Things got_ super  _heated, and there were a lot of things the both of us ended up saying_ _and_ _really,_ really  _regret_ _ting_ _…_ _but_ _we patched_ _things_ _up, or promised to let it go_ _just_ _before I left._

“ _I’m worried that if she hears about how badly it’s going for me right now, she’s going to find some way to convince me to come home. And I don’t_ want _to come home yet—not until everyone else is going, too._

“ _And as for Dad, well, he understands completely, and he_ definitely _doesn’t feel the same way as Yang, but there’s a good chance he’ll tell her about this if he knew.”_

“I see.” Weiss said, nodding.

“ _So you will you do it?”_ Ruby asked.

“You have my word that neither of them will find out.” Weiss replied.

Ruby sighed, and whispered, “Thank you. _Now, as_ _for the second thing…_ _d_ _o you want to help_ _each other_ _get off sometime?”_

Weiss blushed. “… Pardon…?”

“ _Like_ _dirty talk_ _, mutual masturbation,_ _naughty snaps_ _to one another,_ _that sort of stuff_ _,”_ Ruby said calmly.

“… I’ll think about it, and get back to you next time.” Weiss said, cheeks still burning.

“ _Alright!”_ Ruby said, nodding. _“_ _D_ _on’t feel pressured_ _at all, by the way; I’ve got_ _other_ _ways to deal with my horniness._ _”_

“Are you really sure about that?” Weiss asked. “Because I’m willing to do it, if it, ah, helps make your life easier…”

Ruby snorted. _“_ _I_ very much _appreciate the thought,_ _Weiss,_ _but seriously:_ _I’ve been getting_ _myself_ _off_ way _before I ever met yo_ _u._ _”_

“Right, right, of course...” Weiss said, nodding quickly.

Ruby quietly enjoyed Weiss’ flustered expression, before her face turned serious again. _“Alright, that was everything… thanks_ _again_ _Weiss, I’m feeling a_ lot _better now. Anything I can do for_ you?”

“No, not at the moment.” Weiss replied.

“ _I’m off then.” Ruby said. “You’ve probably got like, a_ trillion _things you need to do tonight and tomorrow. Love you, Weiss!”_

“I love you too, Ruby.” Weiss replied, before Ruby closed the link, and all was quiet and dark in Ruby’s room. As she got up and made her way out of Ruby’s room, a brief thought flashed in her head:

“I wonder what’s happened to the SPC after all this time?”


	40. Chapter 40

Elsewhere in Valentino, the streets and canals around the SPC’s branch office were completely closed, disgruntled commuters and passersby being stopped and redirected by the Peacekeepers. As the city-state was infamous for, many of them refused to take the longer and/or inconvenient routes to their destinations, arguing with the automated drones and comms for long enough to force an unlucky officer (or two) to deal with them personally. Most attempted bribes, some made pleas for an exception for reasons mundane and dramatic, and a handful loudly, violently expressed their outrage, bringing up credentials and professions that may or may not have impressed or intimidated who they were talking to.

Quite a bit further behind the barricade and mostly out of sight, the SPC’s private security monitored the situation carefully, either through an extensive network of top-of-the-line surveillance equipment, or simply with the senses of seasoned veterans.

Suddenly, a discreet alarm sounded through their secure channels.

Peacekeepers who had been spending the better part of an hour trying to politely convince the most stubborn people now shouted at them move far, _far_ away from the borders, threatening them to zap them or blast them with riot rounds if they didn’t comply immediately. The guards started to release the safeties on their weapons, ready to unleash hell at a moment’s notice. Bystanders, patrons, and workers in the offices and businesses nearby looked up and watched as several SPC jets flew in, all heading for different areas of the branch office at different times.

“Viewers, the main event has begun: Jacques Schnee has finally returned from his exile, to address the SPC’s board for the first time in nearly two months,” one of the reporters on the ground said. “Who knows what he’ll have to say for himself, if he is even given the luxury to speak?

“What we do know however, is that we are watching history unfold, the latest chapter in this frightening, mystery-filled time for Avalon, as today decides the future of the largest and most influential privately-owned company of all time.”

The ships landed, men who looked and acted exactly like Jacques Schnee began to exit, each making their way into the building surrounded by small armies of security teams and assistants both. Barely anyone knew who were the body doubles, and those that _did_ know certainly weren’t telling.

Chief among them, the Herald’s agents.

Each Jacques proceeded down their own paths, some never seeing their own hard-lined face mirrored back at them, others intentionally passing by so close to one another their guards almost bumped shoulders if not for their precise movements. They all went into elevators, through various facilities, and into a number of meeting rooms, but only one of them made it to the one where all of the directors for the SPC and its subsidiaries were waiting in the flesh, than top-of-the-line holograms or other such trickery.

And it was safe to say, none of them were happy to hear Jacques had arrived, their expressions souring even further as they watched him come in through the inner doors.

Some of the directors could barely contain their rage, audibly seething and just kept from flying off the handle through a mix of emotion-regulation mods, drugs, and the handful of highly trained, extraordinarily well-paid personal assistants. Others were calm, silently giving looks of disappointment, waiting in quiet anticipation, or absolutely stone-faced, expressions and bodies perfectly poised as to be completely unreadable. The rest let loose with comments and small speeches, some they’d prepared up since the day Jacques left on his self-imposed exile.

He seemed to completely ignore all of them as he was escorted to his seat, at the very head of the long meeting table. He sat down, his expression flat and his posture straight-stiff, assistants started swarming around him, offering refreshment, last-minute briefings, or fixing the last few parts of the meeting room’s comm-system. He eventually dismissed them with a wave of his hand, and with the other activated his comm-unit.

Everyone quieted down and prepared to listen, however reluctantly.

“Good afternoon, everyone.” Jacques began. “Effective after this meeting, I will be resigning from my position as CEO, and will not be moving to any other executive roles here, or in any of our subsidiaries.”

The whole room exploded, even the calmest and most reserved directors caught in rare shows of unfiltered and unrestrained emotion. Reactions varied from outrage, to shock, to delight, to vindication, to wariness. The walls echoed with the sound of dozens of voices all trying to be heard all at once, either through their own comms, or just shouting at the top of their lungs.

Jacques weathered the storm, his posture and expression unchanged. A few attempted to get out of their seats and storm straight up to him, but either their own assistants, or Jacques’ personal guard stopped them, quickly ushering them back into their seats.

The ruckus eventually calmed down, though discreet murmurs and not-as-subtle whispering still floated about.

“For 27 years, I’ve lead the company to a brand new era of prosperity, expanding, diversifying, and increasing profit margins at rates that rivaled and sometimes even surpassed the golden age of my predecessor, Nicholas Schnee. It was, by the very definition of the word, _unprecedented,_ and it will forever  be the proudest time in my professional life.

“ _However,_ it has become clear to myself, and more so to you all and the realm at large that I have become like the Old World’s Icarus, flying far higher than his wings could take him, fallen victim to his overconfidence.

“The Scourge of Sekhmet was my first great mistake, my introduction to the mysterious, malevolent forces we did not know lurked beneath the surface of Avalon. It was a disaster that defined an entire chapter of the realm’s history, leaving massive scars in Sekhmet and across all the continents, and taking _far_ too many lives, including that of my wife, Silsa, and our unborn child.”

There was a moment of silence in the boardroom, before Jacques continued.

“Many demanded my resignation or forced removal, the sentiment echoing within these walls as with the public and the media. Many more predicted that there would be no recovering from this, for the company, for myself, and especially for Sekhmet. Some even went so far as to theorize that this might have been the end of the SPC itself!

“But, there was a rebirth and redemption, for the continent, for the company, and for myself.

“We fought and _contained_ the Scourge, sealed the hole it came from and ripped out its hearts wherever they thought they could take root next, before putting forth new measures, technology, and infrastructure to ensure it or any other horrors like it would not terrorize the realm again. We rebuilt Sekhmet, made amends for my mistake, helped lay down new roads and infrastructure that would, and are leading the continent to a better future. We regained the trust of the public, the company recovered from its crash, and you all granted me your confidence once more, to lead a new search for yet untapped resources in the realm.”

Jacques sighed heavily. “I will not say any words about the ill-fated Viridian Valley expeditions that have not already been repeated hundreds of times already, nor posit on the thousands more that are sure to be said, whenever the dust settles and the true scope of the consequences can finally be measured.

“Instead, I leave you with my last three directives as CEO.

“First: an official press release with the details of my resignation has already been prepared, and will be released the moment I leave this room; you may do with it as you wish.

“Second: I will not appoint a successor, tainted as they would be with my failures and scandals; instead, you are to decide among yourselves who will lead the SPC from here on out.”

The room erupted yet again—some directors were outraged, some were surprised, some were utterly _delighted._ Jacques raised the volume of his comm-unit, his voice booming over theirs as he said, “And third: do not _dare_ touch Manor Schnee, it remains under _my_ name, and will be _my_ permanent residence for the foreseeable future.

“This meeting is over; you may submit your concerns and questions through the usual channels.”

The noise reached a fever pitch as directors shouted their indignation and their inquiries, but Jacques ignored them once more, calmly walking past them with his security detail fending off those that tried to accost him and _demand_ answers. The looked at Jacques with faces of suspicion and wariness, or were already beginning to plan their next moves, now that his seat was free for anyone to take.

Director Arthur Watts was quite certain he would soon be the one on it, however—after all, he’d designed and built the Jacques Schnee golem in the first place, and it had just worked _flawlessly._

“It’s all going according to our plans—better, even!” Watts said hours later, relaxing in the “blackout” room of his office. “It’ll be an entirely new war all over the human territories, every last executive and politician vying to install themselves or their puppets on the SPC’s throne! I _almost_ feel sorry for all the valuable resources, time, and talent that’s inevitably going to be wasted by all those petty, greedy, small-minded fools…

“… But _oh_ , the moment we effectively have Candela and the whole realm in our hands, what more we can do once have the whole realm’s resources at our disposal…!” he said, clasping his hands together as a dreamy look came over his face.

“Please _pull yourself back to reality, Doctor, we are still_ very _much at risk of losing_ both _of_ _these wars if we aren’t careful._ _”_ Cinder said coolly. _“The Council’s stopgap measures are working far better than we would like,_ _and_ _it’s only a matter of time before they start_ _mass_ _producing_ _better_ _weapons for the AFA.”_

“And _I assure you,_ Ms. Fall, even the top of _that_ line will be absolutely _pathetic_ compared to our armaments, and _magnitudes_ more so against our forces.” Watts said, chuckling. “They’re cute, really, like a young child’s first ever project for science class! And they’ll fall apart at the seams once faced with any serious, rigorous testing all the same.”

“ _And_ _should_ _they continue to catch us by surpris_ _e_ _?”_ Cinder asked. _“You of all people should be intimately familiar of the ingenuity-_ _bordering-on-insanity_ _humans are capable of.”_

“I will find a way, as I always have, and always will.” Watts hummed. “The late Mr. Schnee has already given us an absolutely _stupendous_ amount of resources, after all, you _know_ I’m already putting it to excellent use.”

“ _Hrmph. That you are, Doctor. Is there anything else to report?”_

“None at the moment, but it _will_ be overwhelming in the coming months!” Watts said, casting a look at an old family heirloom sitting on his shelf—an ancient data-storage device, saved from the Pre-Council era of the Viridian Valley. “Oh, my ancestors must be so excited to finally see all their long-lost work finally coming to fruition!”

“ _As we all are, Doctor, as we all are. Glory to the New Order.”_

“Glory to the New Order.” Watts said, smiling.


	41. Chapter 41

Late on a Wednesday afternoon at the Pits, the Furies were going home after their second ever match, Weiss limping and holding onto Pyrrha for support, Yang carrying her bag for her.

“You are taking some time off, Weiss, no ‘Ifs,’ no ‘Buts.’” Yang said. “We’re going to have Penny give you a full look over, you are going to do exactly as she says, and all of us at the Grove are going to help—right, Pyrrha?”

“Right.” Pyrrha said, nodding.

Weiss sighed, then nodded meekly.

Later at the Schnee sister’s living room, Penny finished her scans and gave her prescription: “ _At least_ one week off all combat, intense training, and ventures outside the walls; a reduction of your physical activity to light farm chores, low-intensity walking, and meditation; and if nothing else, more sleep, as _that_ debt growing any larger will very severely impact your _financial_ debts.

“Do I have your assurance that you will follow my instructions?”

“Yes...” Weiss grumbled as she sat beside Winter, leaning into her sister.

“Thank you.” Penny said, humming pleasantly before she turned to Winter. “And can I please request your assistance again, Winter?”

“Always,” Winter said, before she looked around her and asked, “Isn’t that right, everyone?”

A soft chorus of growls, hums, and chirps of affirmative came up.

Weiss groaned. “Could you all please not treat me like a child...?”

“We will once you stop constantly staying up far past your bedtime.” Winter said, gently patting Weiss on the head.

Weiss scowled, before she relaxed. “Could I please get some help rescheduling my week? I’m anxious about potentially mismanaging my time...”

“You could easily use this opportunity to focus more intensely on your Actaeon studies!” Penny said. “Comfortable as you’ve become with daily expressions, and commands on the field, I feel you’ve been slacking on formal writing, as you’d find in academic texts. It will be absolutely essential when you advance to higher levels of weaver training; many important concepts and theories just do not translate very well, or at all.”

“You could also use this time to think up of plans for passing Tygan’s test.” Winter added. “You came rather close with Kaelim earlier this week; shame that ice platform you made was just _that_ little bit off target.”

“Hey, I put it exactly where he told me to cast it, as he _repeatedly_ said I should have, it’s not my fault he decides to improvise at the very last minute while barely giving me any time to react!” Weiss snapped.

“I know, I know, calm down, little sister!” Winter said, smiling and laughing. “He did have a point, though, in that you should improve your ability to improvise in the midst of combat.”

“And everything else he said?” Weiss asked.

“Oh, ignore those; he was just being an asshole.” Winter said.

The Schnee sisters and Penny all shared a laugh, before Weiss sighed heavily. “I’m starting to really regret not teaming up with you to take on Tygan…”

“You know it would have been a hollow victory for the both of us, Weiss...” Winter murmured.

“I know, but look at it practically: there’s only so many of us left, I’m worried there won’t be anyone left to team up with when I get back next week!”

“But I’m certain you’ll find a way to do it all by yourself if it comes to that, Weiss.” Winter said. “You’ve grown up so much over the years, and much more than I ever could have expected these past two months, don’t forget that.”

Weiss smiled, and closed her eyes. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Winter; I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” Winter hummed.

“Shall we continue renewing your schedule for the week, or should I defer that for later?”

“Later...” Weiss mumbled. “I need a nap...” she muttered, before she leaned onto the other side of the couch and curled up.

And as life just was for her these days, she woke up to some very unpleasant news.

* * *

_To all my students,_

_The next three sessions of our class will be the last we’ll have, before it is officially concluded.  
_

_As you all know, the Terrace is quite busy with reconstructing the Water Quadrant, and making temporary accommodations for the displaced folks in the meanwhile; as such, they have decided that our space is better used for the latter, and that we will not be provided with a new venue. I will not make an appeal, as I feel you have all had enough chances to pass, and to extend our sessions for any longer will go against the point of it being much,_ much _shorter than a traditional class._

_If you do not, or are not confident that you will pass within these last three sessions, I suggest you start looking for alternative means to get your credits/certification. I have attached a number of classes, apprenticeships, and other opportunities for you to enroll in or pursue instead._

_Sincerely,_

_Weaver R. Tygan_

Weiss stared at it for a few moments, checked her calendar and confirmed she’d miss two sessions, before she said, “Penny, start summarizing and evaluating all those opportunities, please.”

“Right away!” Penny hummed, before an hour later, she presented the grim conclusion: “If you don’t pass Tygan’s class, we’ll have to rethink your plans for the year from the ground up, as nothing will be compatible with _all_ of your current obligations and arrangements.”

And so a good portion of her week of recuperation was spent in a long, stressful exercise of changing and drafting new long-term plans for the rest of the year, calculating the costs in time, resources, and lost opportunities if she had to give up something—her being a member of the Furies; any hope of autonomy on her ventures outside the walls; or a good chunk of her self-esteem, and Winter’s savings when she had to keep them from defaulting.

Weiss almost decided not to return to Tygan’s last class, until a stroke of misfortune for the Valley became an opportunity for her:

Physically-resistant but magically-vulnerable creatures were moving towards a major trading route, threatening supply lines and the smaller settlements there. The brunt of them would be dealt with by professional watchers and weavers, but stragglers and lesser threats were to be left to students and contractors, thanks to the overall shortage of personnel. Lucrative rewards both monetary and academic were being offered as incentive, and Tygan was no exception:

<If you do not mind fighting wild creatures, and the risk of serious injury or even death, you may join, and use this as your final test instead of dueling me,> he wrote. <The exact conditions will be finalized on the day itself, but rest assured you will be working exclusively with your classmates.>

Weiss signed up immediately.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Weiss?” Winter asked as she read the recruitment notice herself. “This is _Tygan;_ we both know for _sure_ there’s going to be a catch or three to it.”

“I know, but I _have_ to take this chance regardless.” Weiss said. “There’s so much to gain if I do, and so much more to lose if I don’t!”

Winter smirked. “Channeling Grandpa, are you?”

“Have been for a while now,” Weiss replied. “To be fair, it’s been _mostly_ working!”

Winter chuckled. “Just promise me there won’t come a time where you’re out of commission due to water-borne intestinal distress, alright?” she teased.

Weiss cringed. “Alright.”

The day came, the Schnee Sisters, Penny, and droves of other watchers and weavers headed off to the staging grounds, where a senior watcher briefed them on their targets:

<Crystalbacks! They look pretty, they’re worth as many shinies as they glow, and you will _personally_ see the light of the afterlife in a few seconds if you underestimate them!

<For those of you who’ve never encountered them before, or those of you who just read the bounties and didn’t bother to figure out _what_ you’ll be hunting for it, those minerals you see growing out of their hides are charged with magic, and they _know_ how to use it! Fire, water, air, earth—they’ve got it all, and those four alone are going be the only weapons that will do any real damage against them.

<Bullets? Bounce off! Melee attacks? Shatter _your_ bones and gear before you can make so much as a scratch! Conventional explosives? Good for distractions and setting off traps in the environment, but _not much else!_

<If you are not completely blind, suicidal, or just _that_ stupid, you will _only_ use chemical and elemental weapons and attacks against them, and _always_ the one they’re weak to. Fire beats Earth beats Wind beats Water beats Fire, for those of you that need a refresher!

<And one last thing: if you see a Crystalback that’s more colourful than all the folks at a Pride Parade firing confetti cannons all at once, report it then RUN! Do NOT engage, unless you want to learn what it’s like to be burned, frozen, electrocuted, and crushed to death, all at the same time!>

The senior weaver stepped aside and let a much more level-headed weaver-chronicler explain the quirks of the varieties of crystalbacks already sighted, and the tactics to use against them, before the assembled folks were dispersed and sent to their respective divisions for further instructions.

It was simple enough for the hordes of students joining the 3rd Unit: deal with stragglers and fleeing targets that slipped past, or weren’t important enough for the first two. Tygan, however had three additional conditions:

<One, all of you must be alive and conscious after you dispatch your target. There will be no {sacrificing for the team,} voluntarily or {volunteered} for it.

<Two, you must all have contributed significantly to the fight. Hiding and waiting because you’re {saving your energy to deliver the deathblow} will _not_ be tolerated.

<And three: I need an identifiable corpse at the end, so refrain from using your most ridiculously powerful spells from the get-go. This is as much a test in _appropriate_ _intensification_ of your powers, as much as showing that you can use them in the first place.

<Now, here are your assignments.>

Weiss listened to Tygan and watched with an ever growing sense of dread as her pool of potential teammates got narrower and narrower, until she was paired up with the last two Fae she wanted to be with:

Goro and Sayuri.

<Is this a _fucking_ _joke,_ Teach?> Goro asked.

<About as much as all your attempts to hit me were, Aneyama!> Tygan replied, smiling.

Goro reeled, Sayuri sniggered.

<Now go get ready.> Tygan said, his expression turning serious. <This isn’t a simulation, real folks are counting on all three of you.>

<Yes, Weaver,> the three of them said with varying levels of enthusiasm, before they all looked at each other with sour expressions. <Look,> Weiss said flatly, <I don’t like you, you don’t like me. But can we _please_ work together…?>

After a few tense moments, Goro gave a rough grunt in the affirmative, while Sayuri sighed heavily, then nodded.

<Thank you.> Weiss said, before the three of them loaded up on supplies, and waited for their supervisor/witness.

Fifteen minutes later, they still hadn’t arrived, and Goro was especially upset. _< Damn it! _Don’t tell me this plan’s going sideways all because someone couldn’t be assed to show up on time! Who’s the fucker we’ve been waiting for? I’ll go and haul their ass over here myself if they don’t show up soon!>

<No need,> someone new said. <Substitute.>

Everyone turned to look at them, all three of them reeled, either because they recognized her, or they saw the fresh scar running down from the top of her head and even over her armour, an almost perfectly straight line crisscrossed with stitches, staples, and faint marks from when they were removed.

<Holy shit, weren’t you the unlucky bastard she sliced in half?> Goro asked, thumbing at Weiss.

<Wasn’t _that_ deep, but yeah.> Fireki replied calmly.

<Is this going to be a problem…?> Sayuri asked, uneasily looking at Weiss, then at Fireki.

<Nah.> Fireki said, shaking her head. <Weiss?> she asked, looking pointedly at her.

<… It won’t be a problem.> Weiss said hesitantly.

<Good. Now let’s go.> Goro said, hoisting his cannon off the ground and heading off their transport. Fireki followed shortly after, and after a moment’s uneasiness, Weiss and Sayuri did, too.


End file.
